Infant organ donor from Monroe to be honored on Rose Parade's Donate Life float
A Monroe infant whose donated organs helped save the lives of two others will be honored at this year's Rose Parade New Year celebration.
The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency will sponsor a floragraph, a portrait made of flowers and seeds, of John Clarke Perry on the Donate Life float in the Jan. 1 parade in Pasadena, California. The parade kicks off the annual Rose Bowl college football game.
John Clarke died of an abnormal vessel malformation at 6 months old in November 2015. His parents, Jonathan and Holley Perry, then made the decision to donate his heart and lungs to other children in need.
John Clarke's heart was donated to Davis Boswell, an Auburn, Alabama, infant who battled illness shortly after his birth.
'A special boy who is watching over us': St. Francis renames PICU in honor of Monroe organ donor
"After we donated his organs, we found out through a mutual friend on Facebook that they thought they knew who got his heart," Jonathan Perry said. "Through some research on Facebook the night that John Clarke passed away, there was a boy in Auburn, Alabama, that received the heart that was the same age as John Clarke, and they had told us that 6-month-old babies don't need hearts, it's just very rare. Ironically, they were telling the Boswell family the same thing, and their son needed a heart. It just so happened that the Lord put us together and the heart ended up being a perfect fit."
John-Clarke Perry will be one of 36 individuals honored with a floragraph on the Donate Life float. Each year, the float features three types of participants: riders who are recipients of organs, walkers who are living organ donors, and "floragraph families" whose loved ones are honored with memorial portraits of deceased organ and tissue donors.
MOR: Monroe child's heart beats on in Alabama boy
The Donate Life float will travel five-and-a half miles down Colorado Boulevard. The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency has honored donors from different parts of the state each year and has sponsored a floragraph on the float for the last 16 years.
Jonathan Perry said God continues to bless his family with something new to keep John Clarke's memory alive.
"Everything's coming full circle and then all of sudden getting a call about this Rose Parade, it's just another year going to reach people about organ donation," Perry said.
Perry said his entire family — wife, Holley; three daughters, Emarie, Ella, and Evie Clarke; and mother, Carolyn — will attend the parade and other festivities.
"One of the neat things is we actually get to go work on the float, me and my wife do where there's different shifts," Perry said. "You can sign up for 24 shifts to get it ready for the final parade. We've got an 8 to 12 that we'll actually be working on the float, cutting flowers and actually helping with the process."
More: Heart of LSU Tiger beats in Auburn boy, joins families
Community educator Leah Lopez of the Louisiana organ agency described John Clarke as a hero. She said the infant's story has inspired people who learn about registering for organ donation.
"The Perrys are tremendous advocates for donation and actively seek out opportunities to share John Clarke's story," Perry said. "We felt they were a wonderful fit for this year's theme, 'Courage to Hope,' because they have often said donating John Clarke's organs gave them peace and hope."
The parade will air on KNOE-TV and other stations across Louisiana at 10 a.m. Jan. 1.
Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.
Support local journalism by subscribing at https://cm.thenewsstar.com/specialoffer.
This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Infant organ donor from Monroe to be honored in Rose Parade
