Missouri Members Embrace Family Traditions: Hockey, Travel, and WoodmenLife

The Coomer family in St. Charles, MO, live fulfilling lives centered on togetherness. One of their most enduring family traditions, a legacy passed down through generations, is WoodmenLife.

“WoodmenLife has been a big part of my life for my whole life,” said Travis Coomer, 35.

When the paramedic says his “whole life,” he means his whole life. Coomer’s grandparents bought him a policy shortly after he was born because it was the 100th anniversary of WoodmenLife’s founding — making him a third-generation member¹.

That’s how much WoodmenLife means to the Coomers.

Ice in Their Veins

Something else that means a lot to the Coomers? Hockey. So much so that it, too, is one of the family traditions they embrace.

Tickets to St. Louis Blues games created a lifelong love for the icy pastime for both Travis and his wife, Lauren, 36. And it’s something they’ve passed on to their three kids. Both sons play, and they expect their daughter to join in when she’s old enough.

Their oldest son tried other sports, but when the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, it was all hockey all the time for him. In fact, he was up early to watch the USA Men’s Hockey Team win gold in the Olympics this past February before competing in his own hockey tournament.

Perhaps inspired by Team USA’s overtime victory, his team won their tournament’s championship.

Hitting the Road

Another of the Coomers’ family traditions: traveling. Because Lauren is an elementary school nurse, they have lots of time during the summer to go places.

This summer, they’re going to Walt Disney World in Florida, and they’ll likely head to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, also in Florida.

“This will be the fourth summer taking our camper down there,” Lauren said. “It’s our new tradition.”

All in the WoodmenLife Family

The Coomers’ kids make up a fourth generation of WoodmenLife members.

Travis’ grandparents bought life insurance from WoodmenLife; then they bought life insurance for his mom and aunt when they were young.

“When his mom and aunt grew up, they said, ‘That’s what we’re going to do,’” Lauren said. “And then we followed in their footsteps.”

Those footsteps include actively participating in WoodmenLife activities. Both Travis and Lauren have held officer positions with Chapter 912 in St. Charles, and Travis was a Jurisdictional President last year. His mother and grandmother are also past Jurisdictional Presidents.

Lauren will be the Treasurer during the next jurisdictional meeting, and Travis is on the National Fraternal Committee.

The Coomers also enjoy chapter activities and are looking forward to the WoodmenLife Family Days event in their region, when they’ll head to Holiday World in southern Indiana.

Firsthand Experience

When Travis and Lauren started dating, they attended WoodmenLife activities and meetings together. The experience showed them how WoodmenLife helps in their community and how life insurance can be an important part of a family’s financial plan.

Lauren’s brother passed away at 16 years old — she was just 18 at the time.

“My family didn’t have life insurance, so seeing that and then dating Travis, I knew we should have life insurance,” Lauren said. “And I didn’t see the need to shop around because I knew about WoodmenLife and what it did.”

More recently, the Coomers lost a close friend who didn’t have much in the way of life insurance. The friend’s family has to face costs without ample resources. It’s a situation everyone should try to prevent, no matter their age, Lauren said.

“Unfortunately, young people think this can’t happen to them,” she said. “But it can. Hopefully, nothing happens to us — but if it does, it won’t be a burden on our children.”

A Lasting Family Tradition

The relationship between WoodmenLife and the Coomers is more than that of a company and client — it’s family. That’s not surprising, given how far back the connection reaches and how far into the future they hope it extends.

As Travis said, WoodmenLife will be a big part of their lives for their whole lives.

To explore how you can make WoodmenLife one of your family traditions, visit WoodmenLife.org.

Written by: Gary Peterson, Senior Copywriter

1. An individual becomes a member by joining our shared commitment to family, community, and country, and by purchasing a WoodmenLife product.

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