Organ donors honored in Rose Parade

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Two Fort Wayne organ donors are being honored in this year's Rose Parade. Friday students and teachers helped make floragraphs at Glenwood Park Elementary School.

"When I heard we had the opportunity to finish the floragraphs the first thing I thought of was each of their schools," Joann Nixon said.

In 1998, Chris Nixon died when he was hit by a car. He was just 11 years old. Joann and her husband, Phil, made the hard decision to donate his organs.

"Chris has three recipients who live today because of what he donated. Our sons are friends with the heart recipient," Joann said.

Then in 2007, Phil died unexpectedly when he fell off the roof.

"I said donate everything, head to toe. Whatever you need, whatever you can use, take because that's what Phil would want," Joann said.

Now two years later, Phil and Chris's stories were given new life through seeds and rice.

"It's awesome that they would think so much of Phil and Chris that they would honor them in this way," Joann said.

Dave Kiracofe was a close friend of Phil's and is a teacher at Glenwood.

"I don't think anyone deserves it more because Phil was totally dedicated to organ transplantation because of his experience with his son," Kiracofe said.

Kiracofe and other teachers and students helped finish the floragraph of Phil.

"It was fun sprinkling stuff on it and patting it down," Brooklynn Cross, a fourth grader, said.

She remembers "Mr. Nixon" as a funny guy. Her sister was in his fourth grade class when he died.

"She was sad and she wouldnt' stop crying for two weeks," Cross said. "He was her favorite teacher."

Cross said it's cool to get to help remember Mr. Nixon.

"Phil was a kid at heart and always worked with children. For them to then work on him brings it full circle. It's awesome," Joann said.

Because it's the Roes Parade, everything has to be made out of natural materials. Onion seed, poppy seed, and crushed and ground rice are some of the items used to make Phil's floragraph. Even the "painted" template is made out of natural materials.

"When you look at them at a distance, which is what people will see on a float, it is really them and they are the best pictures they could have made," Joann said.

Joann will be one of 24 people who will ride on the float. Volunteers in California are working to finish it and another 74 floragraphs.

Students in Joann's third grade class at Concordia Lutheran Elementary School will finish Chris's floragraph on Tuesday.