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Faces


A ride of honor T


here was one float in this year’s Rose Parade that had special meaning for Hedy Rossmeissl. That’s because the float contained a floralgraph of her husband Paul, who died in a bicycle accident in 2006.


The float was sponsored by


Donate Life America (www. donatelife.net), which featured people whose donations of organs and tissue have saved lives. Paul was selected for the float as a repre- sentative of the Washington [D.C.] Regional Transplant Community. “In the past few years I’ve paid


more attention to the float,” said Hedy Rossmeissl, a member of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church,


100 plus


102: Freda Sackett, St. Paul, Toledo, Ohio; Frances Whitney, Trinity, Love- land, Colo. 101: Leah Backen, St. John, Napoleon, Ind.; Leo Kress- ley, Weisenberg, New Tripoli, Pa. 100: Margaret Grimes, Messiah, Moundsville, WVa.; Betty Larson, Swedesburg, Swedesburg, Iowa; Evelyn Matz, Zion, Republic, Ohio; Al Monum, St. Luke, Middleton, Wis.; Jeanette Pick, St. John, Mapleton, Minn.; Pearl Reed, Bethel, Hud- son, Wis.; Elise Reese, St. Matthew, Charleston, S.C.; Randi Richards, Good Shepherd, North Quincy, Mass.; Gertrude Tuff, Newport Har- bor, Newport Beach, Calif.; Mabel Yaag, Trinity, Pottsville, Pa.


Share your accomplishments, awards and 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to: lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.


Paul Rossmeissl (inset) was one of the organ donors honored through the Donate Life float at this year’s Rose Bowl parade in Pasa- dena, Calif.


Reston, Va. “I was called in February and told that Paul would be recog- nized. It’s an honor.” The WRTC payed for Rossmeissl and her daughter, Rachael, to travel to Pasadena for the parade. Donate Life America also offered a chance for people to dedicate a rose for the float, which was placed in a vial that contains a personal message. Rossmeissl and her daughter helped place those roses. As a donor, Paul was able to help several others through gifts that


included his kidneys, his liver and tissue. Hedy’s husband was an avid cyclist, so she founded Paul’s Ride for Life in 2009 to celebrate his life and to raise money for the WRTC. “We had 125 riders that first year and we raised $12,000,” said Ross- meissl, about the 50-mile cycling trek. Many of the riders and volunteers have been members of her congregation. Last year there were 329 riders, which brought in $15,000. The next


Paul’s Ride is April 28. For more information, visit www.paulsrideforlife. org.


“Biking was such a part of his life,” Rossmeissl said. “I think the ride has


become something that people look forward to now. It honors his memory and it keeps his enthusiasm for life alive.” She hopes both the annual ride and the float will help remind people how being a donor can save a life.


Jef Favre Favre is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.


January 2012 43


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