Behind every fallen service member is a family whose story continues long after the uniform is folded away. Military spouses, children, parents, and loved ones carry both the pride of service and the weight of profound loss.
As part of our Faces of Service series, NEOPAT is honored to share the story of Courtney Stasko, whose journey through unimaginable grief has become one of resilience, advocacy, and hope for other military families. Through her own experience of losing her husband, United States Air Force veteran Todd Michael Stasko, to veteran suicide, Courtney has transformed heartbreak into a mission of helping children and families navigate loss with compassion and connection.
In her own words, Courtney shares her family’s story.
My name is Courtney Stasko, and I am the widow of Todd Michael Stasko, a United States Air Force veteran and the father of our daughter, Hope.
In May 2019, our lives changed forever when we lost Todd to veteran suicide. Hope was only nine months old. In an instant, I found myself navigating unimaginable grief while trying to raise a little girl who would grow up knowing her father mostly through stories, photographs, and the love he left behind.
As Hope grew, so did her questions. Like many military survivor families, we found ourselves searching for ways to talk about loss, preserve memories, and make sense of emotions that can feel impossible to explain, especially to a child.
Along this journey, I have met countless military and veteran families carrying similar questions, heartache, and hopes for their children. One thing I have learned is that grief can be incredibly isolating. While every family’s story is different, many share a common desire: to ensure their loved one’s legacy lives on and that their children know they are not alone.
When a service member or veteran dies, the loss reaches far beyond the individual. Spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends, and communities all carry that loss forward. Supporting military families means supporting them long after the uniforms are folded away and the ceremonies have ended.
Those experiences inspired me to write Starry’s Journey, a children’s book that follows a young star searching for her daddy’s light in the night sky. What began as a story for my daughter eventually led to the creation of Starry is Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and families grieving the loss of military service members, veterans, and first responders.
My hope is that by sharing our story, we can help raise awareness about the unique challenges military survivor families face and encourage more conversations about grief, healing, and connection. No family should feel alone in their loss, and no child should feel forgotten in their grief.
Thank you to NEOPAT for recognizing military families and creating space for our stories to be shared. By telling our stories and listening to the stories of others, we remind one another that healing is possible, hope is real, and none of us has to walk this journey alone.
Every Story Matters
At NEOPAT, we believe that sharing stories like Courtney’s helps break the silence surrounding military loss and veteran suicide while reminding survivor families that they are seen, supported, and never alone.
By honoring the lives of those who served and uplifting the families who continue their legacy, we strengthen our military community together.
If you or someone you know is a military family in need of support, or if you’d like to help NEOPAT continue serving those who have sacrificed so much, we invite you to connect with us. Together, we can ensure that every story is remembered, every family is supported, and every legacy lives on.
