Remembering Judy Glass: The Woman Who Shaped Cody | FEATURE

“Just suck it up.”

Those are some of the words Cody Glass carries with him from his late grandmother, Judy. They’re words that make him smile.

“She was big on tough love,” Glass said.

They're words that have carried Cody throughout his life and words that he cherishes as he remembers his grandmother, who passed away from cancer in August 2016.

They’re the words Judy said to her grandson when he faced one of his first moments of adversity in hockey: cut from Team Canada for the summer’s Ivan Hlinka tournament. It was the first time Cody had been cut from a team.

"She was one of those people who gave me tough love when you needed it most," he said. "Just because my dad and my brother were, we're kind of like all best friends. But you couldn't do that with my grandma. It was all about tough love."

It was a tough moment in a young hockey career, but Judy clearly knew what to say. That same summer, Judy would pass away.

"That's why I always appreciate her," Glass shared. "She was just always right there with me. I'd never been cut from a team before and she didn't really care. She was the same old person. She was always kind of that one person who didn't really care for me, only as the hockey player."

It’s because Judy understood, Glass said, that her grandson would always be much more than a hockey player. And although Judy did not get to see her grandson drafted into the NHL, carve out a career for himself, her support - and yes, even her tough love - has carried him through all these years.

She's never far from his thoughts.

Life growing up wasn’t easy for Glass. Hockey was his escape.

Both Glass and his brother had hockey and school as their biggest distractions from the outside world. When Cody was 10, his parents divorced. After being separated from his father, Jeff, and brother, Matt, for several months, Cody was eventually reunited with his father and brother, and tight on money, Jeff’s mother Judy took in the family under her roof. Living with Judy also provided a stable home for Cody and his family.

“She was a huge part of my life,” Glass said. “And hockey-wise, I wouldn’t where I am today without her, just because she did help, with her time and financially, all that kind of stuff.”

Asked if she helped build the foundation of his life, Glass shared: “She's right up there. You know, my dad was never going to give up on me playing hockey, even though financially it was tough. But, my dad always wanted to do things himself, but my grandma obviously needed to help out, and so she kind of helped my dad out when she could, when my dad would let her. She just came in and was just huge support role.”

It wasn’t an easy time. But Judy, and yes, even her tough love, made sure her grandsons were taken care of. Money was tight, but Judy helped support their hockey ambitions.

"She was the rock of our family," Glass said. "I've been through a lot growing up, but it was always my dad and my brother and my grandma was always a huge part of that. I wouldn't be where I am today without her."

Listening to Cody talk about Judy, it's pretty evident. This was a woman who was deeply proud of her grandson and he, equally proud to be hers.

Judy never missed a game.

She was there for every formative moment in Cody’s hockey journey. A fixture in the stands until she could no longer be. When Judy was at her sickest, unable to attend games, Cody's cousins would come, take a video on their iPads, and return home to show their grandmother.

“She's just one of those people who was a rock,” he said. “She didn't care how good I played, she just wanted to see me have fun. And that was kind of refreshing, just because it is a high-pressure time, going into my WHL draft and my 16-year-old year in Portland. She was always right there. Never really wanted to talk to me about hockey, would rather talk about anything else. And that's why I always appreciate her. She was just always right there with me.”

Judy passed away at the start of Cody’s draft year. She was there when he was cut from Team Canada, with her tough-love, wise words in the back of his mind. And then, weeks after Judy’s passing, at the start of his season in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, already mourning the loss of his grandmother, he sustained a concussion in training camp.

He was out. He wouldn’t be able to start the season.

It was devastating, no doubt, as he was entering the all-important draft year. But he couldn’t help but remember Judy’s wise words. He remembered how it made him face the adversity of being cut from Team Canada and although Judy wasn’t there to tell him, he knew what he had to do when he was out for the start of the season.

‘Just suck it up.’

“I think it helped me get over it quickly, and isn't the end of the world and, you know, it's just one team,” he said of the cut from Team Canada. “And then obviously she ended up passing and it's my NHL Draft year, so I was like, Ok, suck it up, you know. Shits gonna happen.”

So, Glass worked hard on his recovery and waited for the moment he could return.

And when he was, he added something new to his game-prep routine.

He tapped his stick like he always had but this time he took out a Sharpie.

He wrote the initials ‘JG.’

Judy Glass.

“I look at my stick every time, and I know she's watching,” he said. “I know if she could, she would be there. And so that's why it's a huge thing for me to just have it on my stick and just kind of, remind myself, you know, ‘Suck it up’.”

"I think she's looking down on us," Glass said of he and his family, "and she's proud."

Proud indeed. As Glass has overcome so much, with the help of Judy and the support of his beloved father and brother, to get to where he is. Everything Glass has achieved comes back to their unwavering support - especially Judy’s.

“You want to keep her in memory, always talk about her,” he said, “She was such a good person. I don't know where I'd be without her. She kept my dream alive. It’s something I'll always appreciate. She was one of those people that just always cheered me on,” he said. “She was just an awesome human being until the very end."