Morgan Ives, Donor

He continues to leave a legacy of kindness...

This is my Dad, Morgan Butler Ives. He passed early morning in late November 2021 after spending a week off external support. It took him a week to pass because he took such good care of his body during his one beautiful life. He passed as a result of a delayed brain bleed following a fall. I knew my Dad was an organ donor for most of my life. It was something he encouraged me to do when I applied for my driver’s license at 16. I didn’t realize the magnitude it would have on others’ lives AND on the way in which I grieved. We don’t have much control in this life…so to be able to relinquish power in our death by giving back what we can to help those in need is a beautiful thing. This final act of humanness is representative of how he lived the majority of his life – kindly, generously, lovingly. One of the final things I told my Dad was how proud I was (and am) to be his daughter. At the time, it didn’t cross my mind that there was so much good to come of this great loss. Knowing that my Dad passed his strong, healthy organs on to those who needed it most makes me even more proud than I ever thought I could be. Whoever is reading this, I’d like you to know that a man named Morgan Butler Ives walked this earth, and that he continues to leave his legacy of human kindness in the donation of life and in the impact he has left on me. He had a phrase that he always ended every phone call with (unknowingly). Rather than ending a conversation with “I love you,” he ended it with “be good.” I encourage you to register as an organ donor if you are able and, regardless of organ donor status, live your one beautiful life and BE GOOD. Long live Morgan Butler Ives, my hero, my best friend, my first love, my Daddio.