Missing Cory Essman: A Good Guy & Landscaping Pro Gone Too Soon

Shortly before he left for a vacation in Mexico, Cory Essman went out on an irrigation job with two colleagues, planning to supervise.

But Essman, then Division Manager at North by Northwest, ended up working on the job alongside them. He texted a photo of the three of them, covered in mud, to Jordan Martin, Vice President of the company, with a message.

“He said, ‘Hey, man, we’re out doing repairs and I just want to tell you that 2021 will be an excellent year, because we have an excellent team,’” Martin recalls. “Cory was always like that. He was always positive and grateful. He always thanked the crews, even the ones that sometimes gave him a hard time.”
Cory Essman pictured on the right with two colleagues after working on irrigation

(Corey pictured on right)

Memories of Essman are frequent these days as his colleagues continue to mourn his loss. Essman died in December, 2020 at age 33 during a jet ski incident while vacationing in Acapulco, Mexico.

His loss devastated the company where he worked for nearly two years in both production and sales.

“He was passionate about his work,” says Martin, who hired Essman and worked with him side by side.

“He loved making something beautiful and stepping back to appreciate it,” Martin says. “He was always looking for beauty and he wanted to be a leader. Both of those happened here.”

Wisdom to Share

Friendly and outgoing, Essman loved connecting with people.

“He could talk your ear off, all day long,” Martin says.

As he talked your ear off, lots of wisdom spilled out. Essman led complicated detention basin projects, could tell you exactly what native plants control stormwater runoff, and loved tackling challenges with innovative new landscaping practices.

When his clients worried about budget issues, Essman worked with them to ease the stress, helping them sort out the urgent critical issues from the projects that could wait a bit.

He attended the board meetings of his HOA customers, even though most were on Saturdays, his day off. He wanted to be accessible, to report on updates, answer questions, and foster friendly relationships.

commercial-landscaping-CedarPark-crew-customer-6
The property managers Essman worked with loved him, Martin says.

“He was attentive,” he says. “He was personal. Everybody liked him.”

“The A Player”

Essman was passionate about commercial landscaping. He worked for a while at a landscaping company that specialized in high-end residential landscape installation, but it wasn’t a good fit, Martin says.

He loved the networking needed for successful commercial landscaping, Martin says. And he was good at it.

He joined committees of several area rental and building associations.

“He was the A player on their A teams,” Martin says. “He was the top dog there. He would visit apartments and HOAs on the associations’ behalf, conducting customer surveys and asking how everybody was doing.”

Along the way, he often nabbed new customers for his company.

NXNWL Team - Corey-2
Essman’s people skills were a huge benefit to North by Northwest, Martin says.

“You can be the best landscaper in the world, but if you don’t get your name out there,” he says, “nobody knows you’re the best landscaper in the world.”

Essman was “a trailblazer” in moving North by Northwest from residential work to commercial work, Martin says.

“He mentored all of us,” Martin says. “I hired him because I needed his expertise in moving us into the commercial world. He taught me a lot. He taught me not to be scared to quote the price we needed. He said, ‘Don’t discount yourself. We’re worth our price.’

“He taught me to be patient and not make decisions right away — to think about things overnight and not make decisions in 30 seconds.”

Exploring Adventure

Essman loved 90s country music, playing guitar, fishing, and adventure.
Cory Essman bowfishing“He was never afraid to explore, to try new things,” Martin says.

He’s learned more about his friend as he’s visited all the properties Essman handled and listened to property managers share stories about him.

“Everyone was sad and emotional,” Martin says. “I told them I hate that I have to be here taking over Cory’s accounts.”

North by Northwest purchased a grove of trees to be planted in Essman’s memory, part of a memorial tribute arranged through the Rosewood Funeral Home in Humble, Texas.

It’s a fitting tribute for his landscape-loving friend, Martin says. As North by Northwest continues to grow its commercial business, that’s a tribute to Essman’s skills and passion, too, he says.

“I really want his legacy to be remembered.”Cory Essman surfing