By Mike Bennett
Special to the Blenheim Tribune
BLENHEIM – It was almost like he knew.
Two weeks ago, Scott Schives noticed his son Cory was looking tired after the night's racing action at South Buxton Raceway.
Cory was helping his best friend Shawn Jones load up the equipment for the No. 27 car after his seventh place finish in the May 30 feature race.
"I asked him if he was all right, and he said 'yeah ...I just want to help load the car,' " Scott said, as Cory finished his duties and then left with the Jones to spend the night at Shawn's house in Blenheim, as he usually does after races.
Dave Jones, Shawn's father, also noticed that Cory wasn't his usual upbeat self that Saturday.
"We were working on the car in the afternoon and noticed we had a broken axle. Usually Cory is right in the middle fixing stuff," Jones said.
"This time, he just sat in the lawn chair and watched."
The following day, Cory was taken to the hospital and was transferred to the London Health Sciences Centre Children's Hospital.
Last Monday, his long and courageous battle with cancer was over. Cory Schives died three days after his 17th birthday. The funeral service for the Blenheim teen was Friday.
He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was just six. After years of treatment, Cory seemed to turn the corner in his early teens.
But three years ago, the disease resurfaced and Cory began taking chemo again.
He was still undergoing treatment when he was hospitalized a week ago with pneumonia.
"His body just couldn't fight it off, like you or I could," Scott said.
"...It was almost like he knew," the father looked back to his son's last night at the race track.
Cory rarely missed a Saturday night at South Buxton. He was a member of the Junior Fan Club as a youth and couldn't wait to turn 14 so he could work in the pits with the Jones race team.
"He loved South Buxton more than anything," Scott said.
"I once asked him if he wanted to go to Delaware for a night, and he said no, that he wanted to save his money for Saturday night at Buxton.
"He always said 'dirt's where it's at!'" Scott said with a smile.
Cory spent time as a youth attending special camps and retreats for children, such as Camp Trillium in Simcoe.
The Blenheim Open golf tournament, which raises money for local youth to participate in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, made arrangements in the fall of 2000 for Cory to go to Disneyland and to Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., where he realized his dream of meeting his racing idol Dale Earnhardt Sr.
On June 6, a Happy Birthday/Get Well Soon card for Cory circulated around South Buxton, but none of those who signed had any idea of his fading condition.
Shawn Jones had a strong run that night as he almost pulled off his first career feature win, finishing second in the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4 class.
Shawn couldn't wait to tell his best friend about how close he came to winning his first career feature and dedicating it to him.
When the Joneses went to the hospital to see Cory on Monday, they couldn't help but notice the coincidence in the numbers.
Cory was in the second room, in bed No. 27.
The night before, Shawn finished second, in car No. 27.
"When we saw that, we thought maybe we weren't supposed to win ... maybe we were meant to finish second," Dave Jones said.
Cory passed away later that day.
South Buxton paid tribute to Cory in a pre-race ceremony on Saturday.
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