A Legacy Built from Tragedy

Hope Koonsman’s passion for showing livestock went beyond winning ribbons and earning scholarships.

“Every year after the county show, Hope always wanted to figure out a way that we could help all kids with their animals bring more money and stuff,” says her father, James Koonsman, a firefighter in Blum, Texas. “Every year we kicked around several ideas, but it never seemed to be the right time.”

Hope had suffered from a rare brain condition since she was very young. In 2013, she began experiencing severe headaches, and following a brief illness, she passed away at age 19 — a few months before she was set to attend Texas Tech and study agriculture.

So the idea for the Hope Koonsman Foundation “was a no-brainer” for James and his wife, Robyn. “Hope touched a lot of people,” he says.

Her influence extended to her younger sister, Jordyn, whose success on the Texas youth rodeo circuit is the latest link in the family’s legacy involving animal care and competitions.

The foundation has raised money every year to help children in FFA, 4-H, and other agriculture programs in Hill County buy animals at the county show. That resulted in about $5,000 worth of purchases in the first year. By January 2016, that total had increased to almost $18,000 for local students.

“When you see a kid who doesn’t have much, and you get to buy their animal, we pay more than what they would have gotten originally,” James says. “The smile on their face makes everything we do worthwhile.”

The foundation holds a golf tournament and a dinner dance each year to raise funds. Future projects include scholarships in Hope’s name, as well as methods for helping animal aficionados throughout the state.

James says by diversifying the goals of the foundation, kids with a wider variety of interests can benefit.

“If there is a kid that has a hardship — an animal dies, or whatever it is, some kind of hardship — we reserve the right to try to help them, too,” James says. “Or if there is a kid that really wants to show an animal and just can’t afford it, then we will try to help with that aspect. That is something Hope really liked, so that is something we wanted to do.”

Bonding in the barn

Hope wasn’t James’ daughter by birth, but you couldn’t tell that by their bond.

“She was my wife’s daughter before we got married, but right after we got married I adopted her and I never saw it any other way,” James says.

James met Robyn during his senior year at Tarleton State University. Their relationship deepened, and both wound up teaching agriculture after graduation.

Yet while education might have brought them together, livestock became a shared passion for the young couple. James hailed from a rodeo family while Robyn showed animals, once showcasing a breed champion in Houston.

That passion obviously filtered down to their daughters, and it influenced James’ decision to give up teaching after a couple of years to become a firefighter, which gave him a more family-friendly schedule.

Working together with steers turned into family bonding time for the Koonsmans, especially between James and his two girls.

“From the time she was born, she was in the barn,” James says of Hope. “She loved animals. She was showing when she was 3 or 4 years old. It was her passion. She spent four or five hours a day working with our animals.”

Hope’s passion became a lucrative hobby, as the teenager earned about $30,000 in scholarships showing steers. Along the way, she sold livestock throughout the state, had three reserve breed champions, and won the Hill County show with a steer and a pig.

“It’s a pretty good accomplishment just to make a sale at a major steer show,” James says. “So that was always something she was proud of. She was pretty successful at it. And she did all the hard work.”

Protecting the family

Shortly after finishing construction on their house in 2002, James bought life insurance more as a safeguard than a necessity. It was supposed to be a long-term investment to offer financial protection for his family under the most unfortunate of circumstances.

“We bought [a policy] for both my daughters, too,” James says, “with the hope that we would have it paid off and give it to them as a gift, not that we would’ve ever used it.”

The family’s policies have eased the financial burden in the face of unspeakable tragedy, and the foundation has given them a valuable way to channel their inherent generosity. But for James and Jordyn, the emotional scars will take much longer to heal.

Sadly, Hope’s death wasn’t the only loss for the Koonsmans. A year after they took out the policy, Robyn was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29. After several years of ups and downs, her condition worsened.

Paul Miller, a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent in Hillsboro, visited the family farm to take some updated photos of the house in 2015, shortly before Robyn lost her battle with cancer.

“Robyn was there, and the person that answered the door wasn’t the person I knew. She just wasn’t the same,” Miller says. “She was a young lady that was always healthy, always active. They were big in their community. This was very shocking.”

Remembering and reflecting

In the weeks following Robyn’s death, James leaned on his friends and fellow firefighters for support. Many of them are foundation supporters or board members. Among those friends is Miller, who still counts Robyn’s parents among his long-standing policyholders.

“They’re good people,” Miller says. “It makes you appreciate what you do and it makes you realize that you don’t need to take it for granted.”

James says he’s also gained appreciation for the value of those life insurance policies that he purchased more than a decade earlier. After all, returning to normalcy — and to rodeos — was critical to the healing process.

“With all the medical bills and the cost of the funeral, I don’t know if we would’ve ever got out of debt,” James says. “With insurance policies, it allowed me to comfortably pay for all of that and know that I can still provide Jordyn with what she likes to do. So that’s the big deal, is just knowing that I could provide for Jordyn and not be paying for doctor bills for several years.”

That financial freedom has allowed Jordyn to get back in the saddle and pursue her rodeo dreams, whether in barrel racing, calf roping, or goat tying. Father and daughter travel almost every weekend to rodeos across the state.

It also has prompted James to tout the benefits of life insurance, especially while adults and their children are still healthy.

“Get a good life insurance policy, and you’re never too young,” James says. “We have always been a close family. God is a big part of our family, but you never know when you are going to lose ’em.”

After all, the Hope Koonsman Foundation might have started with the tragic passing of a teenager, but the mission is about keeping its namesake’s legacy alive for generations to come.

Finding Value in Life Insurance

Statistics show that two-thirds of people feel life insurance provides peace of mind, and 70 percent of households with children could not make ends meet if the primary wage earner died.

Yet the vast majority of consumers think life insurance is more expensive than it actually is. Perhaps that’s because they’re not sure how much life insurance they really need.

Your Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent can help provide the answer, but in the meantime, here are some key factors to consider:

• Marital status
• Number of children
• Income
• Spouse’s income
• Mortgage and other loans
• Outstanding debt
• Health care
• Child care
• Savings for retirement and college

Buying a life insurance policy when you’re young and healthy typically means you’ll pay a lower rate while providing a safeguard against the unexpected. Call your Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent today to schedule a 360 Review® and discuss what coverage best fits your needs.

Coverage and discounts are subject to qualification and policy terms and may vary by situation. Life insurance products are offered through Southern Farm Bureau® Life Insurance Company. © 2016 Texas Farm Bureau Insurance