Missy Junk – Overcoming Unimaginable Loss

adly, Missy Junk’s first encounter with life insurance came at age 14 when it paid her father’s funeral expenses. Her next encounter came all too quickly. A year and a half later her mother was diagnosed with cancer and died soon afterward. "You can’t take for granted tomorrow’s going to come; you have to make sure the future is safe," says Missy, now 26 and wise beyond her years.

Missy’s father, Lloyd, a truck driver, and her mother, Sandy, a receptionist, each had life insurance. In fact, Sandy Junk increased her coverage after the death of her husband. Thanks to her parents’ foresight, Missy was able to continue her studies at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and earn her degree in elementary education. "Without the life insurance, tuition would have been a little harder to pay," says her fiancé, Ryan Herman.

Today, Missy teaches second grade in West Bend, Wisc., and is preparing for a life together with Ryan, her high school sweetheart. The insurance benefits are in a trust fund and are paid out periodically as Missy gets older. They helped her with educational expenses and living costs while she was in college, and recently they covered the down payment for a condo. "I own a place and have a car, a great job and a great future husband," she says. "You just hope for it some day, and actually it has happened. It makes me happy." That’s exactly as Missy’s parents would have wanted it.