ROCHESTER — An upcoming car, truck and motorcycle show will honor the life of Kody Gilpin and raise money to support medical research.
Gilpin and his then-girlfriend Lillie Carney met in Idaho. When she moved to Rochester in late 2024 — about a year after her mother and stepfather relocated there, too — Gilpin followed.
David Eberle, Carney’s stepfather, said he was impressed by Gilpin, who had a job lined up at the Rochester Ford dealership before he arrived in Rochester.
“I got to know him as a really calm, level-headed people person,” Eberle said. “Kody was here in Rochester trying to get a fresh start.”
The young couple got engaged last Christmas. But, one winter evening in Eberle’s home, Gilpin collapsed. His heart stopped.
“Lillie was right there in the same room; she rendered CPR,” Eberle said. “But by the paramedics got here, his brain had been without oxygen for so long that it caused a lot of brain damage.”
Gilpin spent nearly three weeks at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys campus, and Eberle’s stepdaughter never left his side, he said. Ultimately, Gilpin was found to be brain dead, and his parents chose to withdraw life support. He died on Feb. 7, 2025, at 24.
“In the short time that I knew him — from, basically, November through February — he made an impact here in the community,” Eberle said.
Gilpin had
Marfan syndrome,
a disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue, including blood vessels.
Eberle said his family wanted to do something in Gilpin’s memory. Since he was a mechanic and a “motorhead,” Eberle said, the family has organized the
Kody Gilpin Charity Car, Truck & Bike Show,
set for Saturday, Aug. 30 at Back Home Harley-Davidson just outside Chester.
“This is, by design, a family-friendly event,” Eberle said. “We’re going to have food trucks, of course all the amazing, beautiful cars, the trucks, the motorcycles.”
The show will also have a silent auction, a DJ and tattoo artists from The Ravens Mark Tattoo. Proceeds will be split between the Marfan Foundation and the American Heart Association.
“It’s more than just raising money for a good cause,” Eberle said. “It’s about doing something for community awareness. It’s about recognizing the people in the community like our first responders that came here to the house and tried to resurrect Kody.”
The event-planning experience inspired Eberle and his wife to start a nonprofit: Common Good Collective of Minnesota. The goal, he said, is to help other families plan charitable events.
“When somebody, like a family, encounters a tragic loss like this, they may or may not know who to turn to or how to get help,” Eberle said. “We’re going to do other events for other people and other families in need in the city.”
On Aug. 30, vehicle staging for the show begins at 11 a.m., and the event runs from noon to 3 p.m.
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