Lori Coble has passed away at the age of 48, leaving behind her husband Chris and their teenage triplets.
The devoted mother, who endured unimaginable loss, succumbed to aggressive brain cancer on Wednesday, Jan. 21, according to her husband.
A mix of joy and tragedy
Lori Coble life was a mixture of joy and heartbreak.
In 2007, Lori and Chris faced a tragedy no family should ever endure when their three young children — Kyle Christopher, 5, Emma Lynn, 4, and Katie Gene, 2 — were killed in a car accident.
Lori was injured in the crash herself, and while she woke in the hospital, two of her children had already passed.
Chris recalls the moment vividly:
“She’s climbing out of the wheelchair the best she can to hug Kyle and saying: ‘He’s got to go be with his sisters now. His sisters are waiting for him.’”
“We stopped life support, and the machines went dark. I held my hand on his chest until his heart stopped beating. And he was gone.”
Though devastated, the couple made a pact: they would not let despair define their lives. Chris, who had undergone a vasectomy years earlier, and Lori decided to try IVF, hoping to give life another chance.
Extraordinary woman
A year later, they welcomed triplets — Jake Christopher, Ashley Lynn, and Ellie Gene — each carrying the middle name of one of their siblings lost in the accident.
“It took me over four years to come out of the fog and pain of what happened,” Chris told People.
“The first three years of raising the triplets, you have this mix of joy and happiness, and at the same time, you’re in pain on the inside. There’s these three babies, and they’re all joy… But at the same time, I was trying to avoid falling apart in front of them. I’d go into the other room and cry real quick and come back and put a smile on my face.”
A friend described Lori as “extraordinary — everybody who knows her, loves her. First and foremost, she’s a mom.”
But heartbreak returned in June 2025. Chris noticed Lori becoming unusually clumsy — bumping into walls, dropping glasses, stubbing her toes. By early July, stroke-like symptoms appeared. “Her mouth started to droop a little bit,” Chris said. “It became too much to ignore.”
Aggressive brain cancer
Tests revealed a large, aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma.
“I was hoping we were done with the life-changing, life-altering disasters where life as you knew it yesterday is gone,” Chris said.
Over the following months, Lori underwent two brain surgeries, endured a stroke, and spent 40 days in the hospital, with Chris by her side nearly every day. She returned home to begin chemotherapy and radiation, but the treatments left her exhausted and struggling to speak. Later, doctors discovered a severe infection in her brain requiring yet another surgery.
“You feel like she’s just being tortured,” Chris told People. “I’m not sure that the treatment for cancer in this situation is any better than the disease itself.”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FChrisCoble%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02pYPJmgjQycJABBNgtjGNQqkTey18vgwpXek5F8kAgkDSYYGyEBVkWPwjgVeYABpLl&show_text=false&width=500
By December, Lori was able to do a Zoom interview, but the day before, she was hospitalized again for pneumonia. Shortly after, she was placed in hospice care at home, where her family could surround her in comfort during her final days.
“I’m trying to make every day the best I can make it for her,” Chris said.
“I don’t want to have any regrets for the rest of my life that I didn’t do everything possible every day for her.”
Announcing her passing on Facebook, Chris wrote: “Lori passed at 9:25 pm this evening.” According to a family friend, Lori passed away surrounded by her family.
The Cobles’ story — from devastating loss to miraculous new beginnings — is a testament to resilience, love, and the human spirit. Now, as they mourn another unimaginable heartbreak, friends and family continue to celebrate Lori’s extraordinary life.
As of now, the family has raised approximately $325,000 to support Lori’s legacy.