DONATE LIFE ROSE PARADE FLOAT-FT WORTH, TX-BOY WHO INSPIRED FOOTBALL TEAMS WLL BE HONORED

Boy whose inspired football teams will be honored 10:03 AM Sun, Dec 20, 2009 Matt Wixon/Reporter

A couple of years ago, I wrote a story about Spencer Squire, a 6-year-old boy whose death inspired several football teams to put stickers with his initials on their helmets. It was to help promote organ-donor awareness.

Well, I got some cool news from Spencer's mom, Anna Squire. From a news release:

This year's Rose Bowl Parade will hold special significance for one Allen, Texas family and a multitude of their friends and loved ones. Patrick and Anna Squire's son, Spencer, passed away on August 8, 2007 from an undetected, malignant brain tumor. It was a day like any other, spent playing sports and counting down to his beloved Texas A&M Aggies football season-opener. With no warning or symptoms, the tumor hemorrhaged, and when faced with the most difficult situation, his parents made a powerful choice. They donated his organs.

One of the floats in this year's 2010 Rose Parade is titled New Life Rises and was designed by a nationwide partnership of organizations united to inspire all people to "Donate Life" through organ, eye and tissue donation. Seventy-six donors from 36 states will be honored with floragraphs on the end of the float. In memory of his life and his parent's heartfelt decision to donate his organs, Spencer Squire's floragraph will be included as one of the seventy-six.