Cody Oller on his 25th birthday on Jan. 7, 2018.

To those who knew him, former Lawrence resident Cody Oller’s most notable quality was that he was the person you could count on for anything.

His sister, Jamie Oller, said even though he had lived with her in Portland, Ore., for the last two years, he would still send pictures of the Oregon sunsets to his Kansas friends on a whim just to let them know he was thinking of them.

“He’s just that kind of guy. He’d do anything for people he cared about,” Jamie, 31, said. “He’s really loyal and loving and really puts his friends and family above anything that he might need. He was goofy and silly and loving.”

Those traits make his death at age 25 even more difficult for his friends and family to understand. Oller was shot and killed on Jan. 8 in a neighborhood park 10 blocks from where he lived in Portland.

Investigators told Jamie and her mother, Marlene Oller, of Lawrence, that the investigation of Cody’s death could take years.

Cody Oller on his 25th birthday on Jan. 7, 2018.

“Nothing like this had ever happened in that neighborhood, that we know of. So it was very shocking to all the neighbors that there was that happening,” Marlene said. “It’s just devastating to both of us. Jamie went out there; she owns her house out in Portland. He went out there to be with her … He was our baby doll.”

Cody’s family moved to Lawrence when he was 3. Marlene said he attended Johnny Appleseed Preschool, Sunflower Elementary School, Southwest Junior High and Lawrence Free State High School.

While at Free State, Cody played football, basketball and baseball and wrestled. But Marlene said football and baseball were his true passions.

Cody attended the University of Kansas for two years before moving to Portland to live with Jamie. Initially he did odd jobs, but eventually he found something he loved in local hotel management.

“He is a really good kid. He and I have been very different people our whole lives. I was in art and theater, and Cody was a jock. My friends in Portland are eclectic, and Cody is kind of a straight-laced kind of guy. He just loved everybody,” Jamie said. “Everybody in my community in Portland was shocked because they know him as the great guy who’s running the barbecue at summer parties at the house, and who, if you need help moving a couch or running errands, he’s there.”

Friends of Cody Oller put up a memorial in Fernhill Park in Portland, Oregon shortly after his death on Jan. 8.

Jamie and Marlene said the support they received from both the Lawrence and Portland communities at Cody’s memorial service in Lawrence on Jan. 19 was overwhelming.

“It was overwhelming not only how many friends, but their families, who came in from all over the country. People flew in from California, they drove up from Oklahoma, Illinois, eastern Missouri; people came from all over,” Jamie said. “Everybody had a story about a time where Cody helped them.

“He’s always been special and important to me, but just to see how many people and how many lives he touched in such a short amount of time has been overwhelmingly unimaginable.”

Family and friends set up a YouCaring fundraising page shortly after Cody’s death to help Jamie and Marlene with funeral expenses and transportation to and from Portland. Over 80 donors have raised $3,375 of the fundraiser’s $5,000 goal in just 10 days.

Jamie and Marlene said anyone in Lawrence or Portland with information regarding Cody’s death is asked to contact Portland Police Detective Scott Broughton at 503-823-3774.

“We can’t imagine who (would do this) or why this would happen. Portland has a very low homicide rate anyway, and for it to just be out of the blue of just a regular guy is even more rare, from what they were telling us,” Jamie said. “We want to do whatever we can to help and support their investigation.”