He was a son, a brother, a best friend and a classmate. He was known for his humor. He loved to play Guitar Hero. He was a protector and was never selfish. Those who knew his describe him as “an all around good person.”

He was 16 years old and a member of the BIC class of 2011. His name was Cody Michener, and he died on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Although his friends and family are grieving Cody’s death, they also want people to remember the impact he had on their lives.

Kayla Cartwright
“Cody was a really free spirit kind of guy. He was always there for people when they had a problem. Mrs. Buck was his favorite teacher to mess with. He’d always go in there just to be silly. One day during class he drew up some fake eyes and taped them over his face, and pretended to sleep. Mrs. Buck got so mad. They always fought. I remember he and I talked so much that she had to move him across the room! He would always move back every day and she’d have to remind him where his seat was. He was an amazing guy, he really was.”

Calvin Wallace
“Cody was the greatest person I think I have ever met. When we went to the bonfire for Timothy Neal’s going away party, the entire time we were there all he did was try to make everybody happy. Everything I ever saw him do was to try and help someone around him. I never saw him do a selfish thing.”

Jessica Gray
“Cody liked everyone even when people didn’t treat him as equal and made fun of him he still didn’t have hard feelings. I feel Cody deserved a lot more respect than he got. Cody was a dear friend he touched my life and I will always remember him.”

Kayla Stacy
“Cody was such a wonderful person. He definitely helped me through a lot. I would be having a horrible day and he could tell before I even really started talking. He would always come up to me and give me a hug and say ‘I loves you Kayla.’ He had a way to make people smile. He will be greatly missed.”

Adrienne Penix
“Cody was everything. He could never hate anyone; he was generally a sweet caring person. He was my best friend and a brother to me. I remember being in Mrs. Yates’s class and she would get onto us because we were loud or we wouldn’t do our work right. Cody and Anita Holcomb had to do a rap together and it was so funny seeing him rap. He was so care free and didn’t really worry a lot. He loved everyone and everyone loved him.”

Lizbeth Blanco
“Well I loved having speech class with Cody because he always made me laugh at his speeches.”

Mallory Steele
“He was very smart and kind. He had a big heart and was always there for people. He was a great friend and a great person all in all.”

Alex Sexton
“I was at the city park in Leachville with my friend Kolbi Platz. We saw Cody, Rydr Churchwell and David Sims at the ball park just hanging out. Kolbi and I decided to go see what they were up to. Turns out they were there to wrestle like they always do. When we got there David was up next to go against Cody. To me it looked like an unfair match. It was an interesting fight. Even though they were fighting for real, it was just for fun. They weren’t mad at each other or anything. Now that Cody is gone, everyone has lost a friend that they could go to and even battle it out with if they wanted to.”

Derrick Davis
“The Cody I remember was him always making people laugh and smile even if he was sad. He would never let his friends be sad.  He wouldn’t ever give up on a Guitar Hero song. He always had fun and he never let anybody hold him down. He never took harsh words to heart. He always made me laugh about the craziest stuff and he would never let anybody hurt his friends without him trying to stick up for them. Cody was unique. He had his own style, his own way of doing anything and he would never ask for help even if he really needed it.”

John Hudson
“He was a crazy guy who could do really silly stuff and get anyone laughing.”

Colt Denny
“Cody’s thing that he was most known for was his playing Guitar Hero. He is and was the best at it of anyone I’ve ever known, a few people have came close, but he was the best. Which was good, and he was never conceited about it. A great accomplishment was when he beat ‘through the fire and flames’ on expert. I’ve only seen two people other than him do it before, but he did it the best. That was the last thing I saw him do, before he left to go swimming, and that’s an accomplishment we will always remember him for.

“Cody always wanted to play guitar for real, but he never got the opportunity. He liked to wrestle a lot too. He was a huge fan of MMA,-which is mixed martial arts- he was good at it, and it was another thing he wanted to get more into in his life, again, never had a chance to do so. What we most remember Cody for is his positive attitude. It’s almost impossible to remember a time when he made someone else sad, he was also happy, and never intentionally hurt anyone else. It wouldn’t matter how much he liked someone he tried everything in his power to help.

“Cody didn’t have a lot to his name, but he was a wise trustworthy friend, a brother to us. We all love him and won’t forget him.”