Travis McCuddy and his son, Zachary
Travis McCuddy and his wife, April
Travis McCuddy and his wife, April
Travis McCuddy, April, close friend Chris Campbell (center) and children
Big Boy
Travis McCuddy's Cat
Trinity, Zachary, and Andrew -- Travis McCuddy's Children
Remembering an Angel:
Travis McCuddy
by Kevin Caruso
Travis Charles McCuddy was a handsome, outgoing, popular, gregarious, talented, hard working, caring, compassionate and giving young man who lived in Winchester, Kentucky.
Travis was a wonderful person who always helped others in need.
One example of Travis's altruistic nature occurred when he and his wife April spotted a man on the side of the road with a disabled vehicle. Travis stopped and asked if he could help. The individual nervously said that he was out of gas and did not have any money. Without hesitation, Travis opened his wallet, gave him $20, wished him well, and left without asking for anything in return.
That was the kind of person Travis was - a giving, caring, unselfish person.
And Travis repeated acts of kindness like this on a daily basis.
Travis's friends and family certainly knew that they could count on him if they had a problem - he would always listen, and he would always help.
He was a very caring person, indeed.
And he was quite talented. He was highly adept with electronics, stereo equipment,
and cars, and he particularly enjoyed installing stereos, alarms, and remote starters in vehicles. And he would install equipment for his friends whenever they asked (which occurred quite frequently).
He also was an aquarium enthusiast, and he maintained several beautiful tanks with exotic fish. His adroitness as an aquarist allowed him to make minute chemical and temperature adjustments to the water to maintain near-perfect conditions for his fish. This allowed him to successfully breed many exotic species.
Travis also loved cats and he had a 20-pound Maine Coon who he aptly named "Big Boy." The cat was very close to Travis and would always follow him around the house and sit near him. Travis loved Big Boy dearly.
And Travis had a wonderful family. He married April, the girl of his dreams, on October 20, 2000. Travis and April had three precious children, Trinity, Andrew, and Zachary. He deeply loved his wife and children and spent as much time with them as possible.
And in January of 2002, Travis realized another dream when he and April hired a contractor to build a home for them and their children. They were overjoyed. They watched as one room after the other was built, and they signed their names and wrote the following messages on the framework of the house during construction:
"Travis and April, February 2002
Our first home - Travis Zac, Andrew, and Trinity"
"April loves Travis"
"Travis loves April"
Travis also had two friends that he was particularly close to - Chris Campbell and David Woosley. Chris and his wife Tina were neighbors and also had 3 children, so Travis, April, and the kids would often join the Campbells for fun activities, including cookouts, birthday parties, and easter egg hunts.
David Woosley was like a second father to Travis. David always strongly supported Travis and would give him advice and direction whenever it was needed. David actually called Travis every morning to make sure that Travis was okay and was ready for work!
But Travis did have some problems. He suffered from depression and he drank too much.
And Travis's depression and alcohol problems caused him to attempt suicide 4 times.
Sadly, on the fourth attempt, Travis died by suicide.
On May 2, 2004, Travis told April that he was going to do some work in their garage.
When he did not return to the house, April went to check on him - he had hanged himself.
He was 24.
Travis is deeply missed by his family and friends.
His children constantly talk about him.
April cannot stop thinking about him.
And Travis's cat, Big Boy, has been ill and has lost almost half of his bodyweight since Travis passed away - Big Boy lost his best friend.
We miss you Travis.
You are now an angel.