[image-caption title="A%20memory%20book%20honors%20Consolidated%20Cooperative%E2%80%99s%20Shawn%20Tuttle%2C%20a%20district%20line%20supervisor%20who%20died%20in%202024.%20Through%20the%20Cooperative%20Family%20Fund%2C%20Tuttle%E2%80%99s%20children%20received%20funds%20disbursable%20at%20age%2018.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Aimee%20Jantz%2FConsolidated%20Cooperative)%20" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FTuttle%20Memory%20Book%20Intro.jpg" /]
Losing a life partner is overwhelming, even more so when children are left behind. When Brandi Hackman’s husband, Luke, 36, was killed in a 2022 car accident, his employer, Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, reassured the grieving family they weren’t alone.
Through the Cooperative Family Fund, a nonprofit for children whose parents die while employed full time at a co-op, the Postville, Iowa, co-op set up two funds for the Hackman children, then 3 and 5.
“I remember the day Hollee [McCormick, ACEC executive vice president and general manager] called to let me know [about the funds],” Hackman said. “I was shocked … and I’ll be forever thankful that our children were given this support during such a difficult time in our lives.”
At the time of an employee’s death, the Cooperative Family Fund invests $10,000 for each surviving child in a Homestead Funds account, which is then distributed at the age of 18. The Hackmans were the first family to benefit from the fund after its launch in December 2022. It has since created accounts for 113 children after the deaths of 50 co-op employees in 21 states.
“We have no strings attached,” said retired CEO of Cherryland Electric Cooperative and former NRECA President Tony Anderson, founder of the all-volunteer organization. “They’ve lost a parent, and we're trying to give them a good start to begin their adult years.”
The organization also provides emotional support to grieving families. Volunteers assemble memory books for each child filled with notes, photos and other mementos from the co-op. Co-op employees are also encouraged to help fill the seats for “cheering sections” at surviving children’s sporting events or concerts.
[image-caption title="A%20page%20from%20a%20memory%20book%20honoring%20Consolidated%20Cooperative%E2%80%99s%20Shawn%20Tuttle%2C%20a%20district%20operations%20supervisor%20who%20died%20in%202024.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Aimee%20Jantz%2FConsolidated%20Cooperative)" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FTuttle%20Memory%20Book%20Mellen.jpg" /]
“The memory book seems like a small thing, but it’s really huge,” said Cassie Tuttle, whose husband, Shawn, 51, was a district operations supervisor at Consolidated Cooperative in Mount Gilead, Ohio, before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2024.
She finds comfort in coworkers’ notes and photos of her late husband. “He did things that I didn’t necessarily know about, and to see how many people he touched … it’s just so meaningful.”
As the Cooperative Family Fund turns three this year, directors are working to raise funds and reach more families. About 400 co-ops have consistently donated at least $1,000 each year since 2022.
“We need people to donate,” Anderson said. “We need each co-op to donate, and co-ops who know about it to talk about it, so everyone’s aware.”
