Beloved local nurse to be honored as part of 2026 Rose Parade float

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Warm hugs, gentle smiles, and watery eyes filled the country astatine UCSF Fresno connected Friday morning.

"Patrice lived arsenic a caregiver with her full heart, and successful death, she gave life. That is the explanation of legacy," Robb Smith said.

Friends and household members of the precocious Patrice Sanders gathered for a precise peculiar announcement by Donor Network West.

A portrait, known arsenic a "floragraph," volition beryllium displayed connected the 2026 Donate Life interval astatine the 137th Rose Parade honoring Sander's.

"Her generosity continues contiguous done the donation of her kidneys - redeeming 2 lives and done insubstantial donation, redeeming galore more," CRMC manager of objective attraction services Catrina Cullen said.

She passed distant aft suffering a changeable successful June of 2024, but her tone has lived on.

RELATED: Valley Children's caregiver donates organs aft aesculapian decline

Family, co-workers, friends, and patients of Sanders accidental her contagious energy, compassion, and attraction were unmatched connected and disconnected the clock.

"She didn't person children of her own, but she poured emotion into the lives each astir her," Smith said. She built a household wherever she went. She created memories that volition unrecorded connected for generations."

Everyone who went to the podium said they're not amazed Sanders continues to beryllium an inspiration to many.

She ended her beingness arsenic an organ donor whose communicative has impacted much radical than we volition ever know. The acquisition to larn from her beingness is to beryllium generous and benignant successful each stages of life."

And arsenic a large Giants fan, her household was amazed with a customized jersey and peculiar missive from the Major League Baseball Team.

"She volition ever beryllium remembered arsenic a existent giant," a household said portion speechmaking the letter.

Donor Network West says much than 20,000 Californians are connected the organ transplant waiting list.

You tin spot the Donor Network interval and the representation honoring Sanders this New Year's Day successful the Rose Parade airing connected ABC30 starting astatine 8 a.m.

For quality updates, travel Elisa Navarro connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.