Mom Who Was Diagnosed with Brain Cancer After Losing 3 Kids in Car Crash and Had Triplets a Year Later Dies at 48

Lori Coble has died. She was 48.

The mom of teenage triplets, who had lost her first three children in a car accident, died of brain cancer on Wednesday, Jan. 21, according to a family friend.

“Lori passed away last night surrounded by her family,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Hers had been a life of joy, but also pain. In 2007, she lost her three children — Kyle Christopher, 5, Emma Lynn, 4, and Katie Gene, 2, in a car crash.

She and her husband Chris spent months trying to cope with their devastation, then decided to try getting pregnant again. A year after losing their other children, the Cobles had triplets; each carries an older sibling’s middle name: Jake Christopher, Ashley Lynn, Ellie Gene.

For the next 16 years, Lori and Chris focused on nurturing their family.

But in June 2025, Chris noticed something was wrong. His wife was “getting more clumsy,” he previously told PEOPLE. She would run into walls, stub her toe on chairs, or drop drinking glasses on the floor. In early July, he noticed stroke-like symptoms. “Her mouth started to droop a little bit,” he says. “It became too much to ignore.”

In July, Lori was diagnosed with a large and aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma — brain cancer.

Chris couldn’t believe that they were facing yet another unimaginable tragedy. “I was hoping we were done with the life-changing, life-altering disasters where life as you knew it yesterday is gone,” he said.

“I started mourning the loss of my wife the day she got diagnosed,” Chris told PEOPLE. “I didn’t have a lot of hope at the outset — and that weighed heavily on me. I was really upset, mad, angry. How could this be happening to us again?”

Over the next few months, Lori had two surgeries to remove the tumor. The second was invasive and complex, and caused her to lose control of her left side. A few days later, she had a stroke and was placed in a medically induced coma. She was in the hospital for 40 days, with Chris by her side nearly every day.

When Lori had regained her strength, she went home to start chemotherapy and radiation. But the treatment made Lori more tired and impacted her speech. She appeared to be getting worse.

In mid-November, Chris took her to the emergency room, where doctors discovered she had a large infection in her brain. She would require yet another surgery.

“You feel like she’s just being tortured,” Chris told PEOPLE. “I’m not sure that the treatment for cancer in this situation is any better than the disease itself.”

In early December, Lori felt well enough to schedule a Zoom interview with PEOPLE. But the day before the interview, she was back in the hospital with an infection in her lungs and pneumonia.

Shortly after, she was brought home for hospice care. It was a difficult time for her family, including her three children, who are now in their senior year of high school. But, everyone wanted her to feel comfortable.

“I’m trying to make every day the best I can make it for her,” Chris told PEOPLE at the time. “I don’t want to have any regrets for the rest of my life that I didn’t do everything possible every day for her.”

On Jan. 21, Chris announced her death on Facebook : “Lori passed at 9:25pm this evening.”

A GoFundMe has been established to help the family.

Lori Coble has died. She was 48.

The mom of teenage triplets, who had lost her first three children in a car accident, died of brain cancer on Wednesday, Jan. 21, according to a family friend.

“Lori passed away last night surrounded by her family,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Hers had been a life of joy, but also pain. In 2007, she lost her three children — Kyle Christopher, 5, Emma Lynn, 4, and Katie Gene, 2, in a car crash.

She and her husband Chris spent months trying to cope with their devastation, then decided to try getting pregnant again. A year after losing their other children, the Cobles had triplets; each carries an older sibling’s middle name: Jake Christopher, Ashley Lynn, Ellie Gene.

For the next 16 years, Lori and Chris focused on nurturing their family.

But in June 2025, Chris noticed something was wrong. His wife was “getting more clumsy,” he previously told PEOPLE. She would run into walls, stub her toe on chairs, or drop drinking glasses on the floor. In early July, he noticed stroke-like symptoms. “Her mouth started to droop a little bit,” he says. “It became too much to ignore.”

In July, Lori was diagnosed with a large and aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma — brain cancer.

Chris couldn’t believe that they were facing yet another unimaginable tragedy. “I was hoping we were done with the life-changing, life-altering disasters where life as you knew it yesterday is gone,” he said.

“I started mourning the loss of my wife the day she got diagnosed,” Chris told PEOPLE. “I didn’t have a lot of hope at the outset — and that weighed heavily on me. I was really upset, mad, angry. How could this be happening to us again?”

Over the next few months, Lori had two surgeries to remove the tumor. The second was invasive and complex, and caused her to lose control of her left side. A few days later, she had a stroke and was placed in a medically induced coma. She was in the hospital for 40 days, with Chris by her side nearly every day.

When Lori had regained her strength, she went home to start chemotherapy and radiation. But the treatment made Lori more tired and impacted her speech. She appeared to be getting worse.

In mid-November, Chris took her to the emergency room, where doctors discovered she had a large infection in her brain. She would require yet another surgery.

“You feel like she’s just being tortured,” Chris told PEOPLE. “I’m not sure that the treatment for cancer in this situation is any better than the disease itself.”

In early December, Lori felt well enough to schedule a Zoom interview with PEOPLE. But the day before the interview, she was back in the hospital with an infection in her lungs and pneumonia.

Shortly after, she was brought home for hospice care. It was a difficult time for her family, including her three children, who are now in their senior year of high school. But, everyone wanted her to feel comfortable.

“I’m trying to make every day the best I can make it for her,” Chris told PEOPLE at the time. “I don’t want to have any regrets for the rest of my life that I didn’t do everything possible every day for her.”

On Jan. 21, Chris announced her death on Facebook : “Lori passed at 9:25pm this evening.”

A GoFundMe has been established to help the family.