Ryan J. Converse to be remembered, featured in Rose Parade

Watertown Daily Times | Rebecca Madden
Photo: JUSTIN SORENSEN n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Vicki L. and Joseph J. Converse hold a photo of their son Ryan, an organ donor who died at the age of 21 in 2010, and will be featured on a float with other organ donors during the Rose Bowl parade.

As an avid football fan and former player for Watertown High School, Ryan J. Converse would have been honored to participate in the upcoming Jan. 1 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

Instead of watching the parade from the sidelines, Ryan will be looking down on it as floats go by, including the Donate Life float that features a floragraph of him. The Rose Parade is held each year before the annual Rose Bowl Game, a collegiate football game featuring the Big Ten Conference champion and the champion from the Pac-12 Conference.

Mr. Converse died July 2, 2010, after being struck by a car just outside his home on Route 283. His organs were then donated and two years later, he will be remembered for giving others the gift of life.

“It’s nice knowing Ryan’s life has carried on,” said his father, Joseph J. Converse. “It seems totally wasted; he was only 21 when he passed. We’re just still trying to make sense of it.”

Ryan is the first north country organ donor to be featured on the Donate Life float in the Rose Parade.
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