McLean Family to Honor Late Daughter at Rose Bowl

Five years ago, 36-year-old McLean resident Hilary Crawford Bradford passed away, leaving behind two children, a husband, her parents and five siblings. A registered nurse, she was also an organ donor and donated her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas helping save five lives.

Her story is told this month in Northern Virginia magazine in an interview with Hilary’s mother Bettsy Crawford.

Crawford, herself a donor, will soon fly to California to watch the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day, where a float with a likeness of her daughter, created with flowers, will pass by. The float will be sponsored by Donate Life, an organization that gets the word out about the importance of organ donations.

Each year, the Donate Life float’s memorial “floragraphs” honor deceased organ, eye and tissue donors nationwide. The organization honors the deceased as well as their families and donors everywhere through the portraits, all of which are decorated in whole or in part by the honorees’ loved ones.

Read the entire story at Northern Virginia magazine.