Meet Our 2018 Rose Parade Honoree
Each year, to thank the California Department of Motor Vehicles for their ongoing support of organ, eye and tissue donation, Donate Life California selects a Rose Parade Honoree who is a donor with ties to the DMV.
Our honoree is included on the annual Donate Life Rose Parade Float, which is sponsored by dozens of Donate Life related organizations from around the nation.
We’re happy to share with you that this year’s Rose Parade Honoree by Donate Life California will be tissue donor Steve Sepulveda, whose sister-in-law Adriana Murrufo-Burton works at the Pomona Field Office.
Honoring Our Heroes at the Rose Parade
Steve will be one of 44 donors honored on the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade Float. The float’s theme, Rhythm of the Heart, honors music as the universal language that unites and heals people from different cultures and walks of life. Organ recipients, living donors and donor families will find this theme very close to their hearts.
This year marks the 16th year that the Donate Life Rose Parade Float continues its mission to save and heal lives by sharing the gift of life and delivering the message of organ, eye and tissue donation to the world. Families of deceased donors are honored to see their loved ones’ floral images highlighted as part of the float. Living donors and recipients bring the float to life by riding or walking beside the float. This year’s parade theme, The Melody of Life, celebrates the power of music – the universal language – in bringing us together.
The power of music can bring healing to donors and recipients alike, as well as hope to millions of people who will watch the Donate Life float on January 1, 2019, as it rides through the streets of Pasadena.
Learn About This Year’s Rose Parade Honoree
Steve Sepulveda was born January 10, 1969, in El Paso TX. He was raised in and lived in Los Angeles until his passing on July 7, 2013 at the age of 44. Steve was a great son, a wonderful father and an amazing husband. He left behind two daughters, his wife, his mother and two siblings.
As a kid, Steve had a lot of energy and loved to play sports. He played high school football and basketball and attended Humboldt University after graduating. Steve and his spouse were school friends while in elementary school and remained friends through high school. It wasn’t until after college that they began dating. He was married for 17 years and had two beautiful young daughters.
Steve lost his father in 1987 and became a support system for his younger sibling and mother. He enjoyed family time, golf, camping, taking his girls to the parks and pools, and dates with his wife.
Steve passed from an enlarged heart and his family likes to tell people “Steve had a big heart.” This showed in his decision to become a donor. He was the type of person that if you needed help with anything, he would do what he could to be of assistance in any way. Steve would feel comfort in knowing his donation helped others. His family knows he is no longer with them, but in a way, he is still part of this world.
Saying Thank You to Our DMV Partners
Over the past years, Donate Life California has honored a variety of DMV employees, family members, and others who gave the gift of life. The mission of organ, eye and tissue donation is close to the heart of DMV employees.
Each year, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles signs up hundreds of thousands of new registered organ, eye and tissue donors. In total, registrations by the DMV make up over 95% of the entire registry.
It is not exaggerating to say that we would not be able to do the life-saving work of organ, eye and tissue donation without our ongoing partnership with the California DMV.
Next time you are in the DMV take a quick second to say thank you to the DMV employees who are doing this work each day.
Join us in Honoring Steve and All Our Heroes on New Year’s Day!
We hope you’ll turn on the television and tune in on New Year’s morning to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. And keep your eye out for the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, our honoree Steve, and the many donors and recipients who will be celebrating the “Rhythm of the Heart.”
