Heroin overdose victim’s ashes spread over Lake Arthur
Eugene “Geno” Codispot and his family spent plenty of time at Moraine State Park, and on Tuesday, Sept. 5, he became part of Lake Arthur.
Codispot, of Slippery Rock, died of a heroin overdose on July 26 at age 61. His older brother, Len Codispot-Anderson, arranged for a plane to scatter Codispot’s ashes over Lake Arthur. They were mixed with purple and blue dye as a way to boost awareness of addiction and colon cancer, respectively. Codispot received treatment for colon cancer before his death, but he never made it back to the doctor to see if his cancer had been cleared.
According to Codispot-Anderson, his younger brother had fallen into addiction after being prescribed pills several years ago. Codispot’s personality changed when he was using drugs.
“He was the sweetest, the nicest, he was my buddy,” Codispot-Anderson said. “Addiction made it hard over the years, but when he was clean, he was just a bear.”
A private plane flew over Lake Arthur on Tuesday afternoon, spreading Codispot’s ashes along the way. Members of Codispot’s family then met at Rock Falls Park to release lanterns in Codispot’s honor.
Codispot-Anderson said the memorial Tuesday is what his brother would have wanted, because he remained a family man throughout his addiction.
“He loved his kids. He loved his family,” he said.
Codispot-Anderson said his brother had been in and out of treatment programs over the years for his addiction. While he would be successful in treatment, resuming normal life proved more difficult for him. Codispot-Anderson said he hopes to see other people see the death of his brother from heroin try to quit the drug before they suffer the same fate.
“We had him up in State College and he did wonderful,” Codispot-Anderson said. “I mean I begged him not to come back to this town, if he came back to this town it would be the same thing and that’s what happened.”
