ConnectLife Blog

Jacqueline Dotzler became an organ, eye and tissue donor upon her passing on April 24, 2014. Her sister, Justine Fedchak, shared this remembrance: Jacqui was a beautiful person inside and out. She was loved by so many people and would do anything for anyone. Jacqui was a waitress in Batavia and was very into art and tattoos. She loved cats and treated hers as her babies. I want people to know what a kind heart my sister had. She was such a loving and caring person and had suc

His mother, Bonnie Platt, shared this remembrance: Kyle Patrick Presby Platt entered this world on Father's Day, June 17, 1990. He arrived 9 days past his due date, weighing 9 lbs. 9 oz. His mom was one of 9 siblings, as were both maternal grandparents, whose house number happened to be 99. Thus, Kyle chose to wear number 9 on his high school lacrosse jersey. Reflecting on the all-too-brief life of my son, I focus on his strengths and most admirable character traits. COMPASSI

His mother, Laura Brock, shared this remembrance: I have delayed writing this story, because it is so difficult to write about my son who is no longer with me. But I go on everyday remembering all the good times. Joe had a love for life. He enjoyed it to the fullest. Joe enjoyed all the holidays. He worked at Kmart with me for a short time and I remember he volunteered to be the Easter Bunny, he was the tallest bunny ever! He took pride at Christmas in picking out special gif

Travis J. Hilton became an eye and tissue donor upon his passing on November 10, 2012. Travis J. Hilton became an eye and tissue donor upon his passing on November 10, 2012. His mother, Jana Hoffman, shared this remembrance: An amazing young man came into my life in 1992 – my son Travis. Sadly we only got to spend 20 years with him. Trav loved camping, excelled at all sports, but soccer was his favorite. His athletic abilities were impressive – he could run up to a wall, jump

Frederick Garrasi III became an eye donor upon his passing on May 3, 2013. This remembrance was shared by his parents, Fred and Renee. Freddy was a proud big brother, the oldest of three children. While of course he and his sisters had the typical sibling fights and rivalries, they were incredibly close and the best of friends. Freddy would do anything for his family and friends. He grew up in a family that taught him the importance of kindness and compassion. Freddy carried

Kevin Ryan Hickey became an eye donor upon his passing on January 31, 2014. This remembrance was shared by his mother, Michelle Hickey. Kevin was an amazing young man whose life was ended way too early. He was born with a damaged autonomic system that affected many parts of his body. He could not walk or talk and suffered seizures on a daily basis. But he loved life and had such a contagious smile that could make anyone's day a little better. He touched many people's lives...

Paul Englert, Jr. became an organ donor upon his passing on September 19, 2013. This remembrance was shared by his family. Paul was a happy, healthy 19-year-old young man who is described by everyone as always having a big smile and a hearty laugh. He was born January 11, 1994, on the birthday of his paternal grandfather. For 19 years they shared this special day together, and ironically God called them home only 10 days apart. Paul Englert, Jr. shared a birthday with his gra

James and Mary Ellen Bonnar James M. Bonnar became an eye donor upon his passing on July 25, 2004. Mr. Bonnar was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and later moved to the United States, earning a degree at Buffalo State College and working at Multisorb Technologies and at Adelphia. This remembrance was shared by his wife, Mary Ellen Bonnar. My husband Jim was such a wonderful son, husband, father and friend. Although we never had that conversation about organ donation, I knew

Shaun Szmak of Buffalo became an eye and tissue donor upon his passing on Dec. 4, 2010. This remembrance was shared by his parents, Colleen and Doug. Shaun was born June 26, 1979. He was our second son, he has an older brother named Doug (we call him Dougie). Shaun was born prematurely and required a lot of attention. He spent a few months in the hospital due to being born premature. We were told by the doctors that he would most likely be a learning-disabled child, and a sma

Joseph G. Marks, Jr., of Wheatfield, known to friends as "Big Joe," became a donor upon his passing on July 1, 2012. This remembrance was shared by his wife, Kathryn. Joe was 6’5”, so he easily towered over everyone in a room but that was no comparison to the size of his heart. Joe was the kindest, most gentle person I had ever met. Joe was a huge sports fan. He loved his Buffalo Bills, Sabres and the Cleveland Indians. In fact, we named our puppy Slider after the mascot for

Shared by his mother, Donna Jon was born in 1985. He was a big baby, 9 lbs. 6 oz. He had beautiful blond hair, blue eyes. Jon was born with a rare metabolic disorder and his sister Rebecca had died the year prior with the same issues. When I brought Jon home from the hospital, where he lived for three months, I wasn't sure if I could be the mom that he needed. I wasn't sure if I could love him, knowing that he would not live to be an adult, but I was wrong. Jon grew up in a l

Written by Sophia’s daughter Tracey Mom was very involved with her family. She had four children, Tracey, Lori, Julie and Dan; three sons-in-law, Joe, Ken and Keith; and four grandchildren, Joey, Trevor, Cassie and Ashley. Her favorite things to do always involved her family and especially her grandchildren. She would travel all over the country to watch her granddaughter Cassie perform in baton competitions. She also enjoyed Ashley’s soccer matches. She spent this past Thank

Written by Jim’s beloved wife, Barbara Jim was born on August 2nd, 1946. He was the second son of Mary and Ben Kwitowski. Jim lost his dad at age 3 and missed having a father figure in his life. Jim grew up on the East Side of Buffalo until seventh grade, when the family moved into an upper apartment on Beach Road in Cheektowaga, NY. He attended Maryvale High School, where he played football and was awarded a place in the Maryvale Hall of Fame. He was also awarded a scholarsh

Story submitted by Michael's mother, Terry. Michael was adopted by us when he was 10 years old. But that was not when Michael came into our lives. I met Michael when he was 5 years old. I am a nurse, and I was evaluating him to be placed in a long term care facility. The first 5 years of Michael’s life were wrought with disability, dysfunction and abuse. Michael was born with Spina bifida and multiple disabilities. He was taken by the authorities from his birth parents and le

Shared by Luanne, Andy's mother Andy was 14 years old when he was hit by a drunk driver on the street in front of our home. He was on his way across the street on a farm vehicle to take care of his horse, Max, who was very bothered by bugs on that beautiful August day in 1995. After three days in Erie County Medical Center’s trauma unit, Andrew was declared brain dead and when I asked the young doctor what we should do now, he posed the question, “Have you ever thought of org

Written by Eric's Mom, Vicki Eric Michael Fontaine was born on June 4, 1991. He was my only child and I miss him with all my heart. He became an angel on May 17, 2013. He was just 21 years old. He was in a motorcycle accident and died instantly. Everyone that knew Eric loved him. He was such a fun loving, easy going young man. He always made everyone laugh and he had such an infectious laugh. Eric loved cars. This started at a young age. Whenever his grandmother or I took him

Written by daughter, Margaret R. Debus. I donate to Unyts in honor of my father, F. John “Jack”Debus. Preceding his death on January 15, 2011, Jack had made arrangements with Unyts to donate his body. Giving back was always a priority for my dad who, with my mother, raised nine children. Jack was a WWII Navy veteran, a loyal employee to the Buffalo Forge Company for 45 years and a volunteer for over 25 years at the WNY Veterans Hospital. I give my blood for now, but when the

”I know now that participating in the organ donation program was absolutely the right decision…To know that her gift was able to save a life is an unbelievable and wonderful feeling. And to know that a part of her is still living feels like a miracle.”

Written by daughter Maranda E. Reed (Golding) I am honored to be sharing my father’s life story with you. First let me tell you a bit about the amazing man he was... Ken was born on Friday September 13th to Victor and Marilyn Golding. He was the younger brother to Debbie Golding and Vincent Golding and older brother to Jeffery Golding. He was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. From the stories my grandparents told me, my dad was a quite trouble maker and yet became a

Written by Elizabeth Woods I met Michael in college; he worked in the College Bookstore and I was the brash editor of the college newspaper. Mike had never been married, I was divorced with 4 kids. Although Mike was 4 years younger than me, we started dating within months after we met. As we got to know one another, we realized that we had a lot in common. We were both family-oriented, we both loved kids and we were both blood donors. Mike made friends for life with just a