When Erik Rushford made the decision to become an organ donor while getting his driver’s license as a teenager, his mother Christine remembers the moment clearly.

• “He looked at me and said, ‘Should I do that?’” Christine Rushford recalled. “I told him that was a decision that he had to make — he very firmly looked at the lady and said, ‘Yes, definitely.’”

That decision would ultimately impact nearly 150 lives after the 22-year-old Fort Walton Beach resident died by suicide in January 2023 following a lifelong battle with depression. Now, Erik’s legacy will be celebrated on a national stage when he is honored on the OneLegacy Donate Life float in the 2026 Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California.

The Rushford family moved to Fort Walton Beach in 2014, where Erik attended Bruner Middle School and played varsity soccer for four years at Fort Walton Beach High School before graduating from Choctaw High School in 2019. His father served in the Air Force, stationed in the area as a reservist.

• Erik was the second of four children and grew up with a calm presence that anchored the busy household. His mother describes him as thoughtful, level-headed and compassionate, quietly supporting those around him.

Soccer was Erik’s greatest passion. He played throughout high school, coached youth teams, returned for alumni games and cheered for his beloved Chelsea F.C. Beyond soccer, he excelled in bowling and disc golf. On a family vacation in the Bahamas, Erik amazed onlookers when other kids struggled to climb a coconut tree — he simply walked over, scaled the tree and grabbed a coconut before jumping down.

Academically gifted, Erik pursued computer science at the University of Florida’s School of Engineering. He was a natural teacher who could explain complex concepts in multiple ways.

“He was incredibly gifted,” Christine said. “He was one of those kids that really, anything he picked up, he was super good at. He was very empathetic towards others. He always just had a soft spot for other people and their struggle and their pain.”

Erik was diagnosed with depression at age 10, beginning what his mother describes as a long journey with mental health treatment. Despite his challenges, he consistently showed up for family events, friends and community activities, offering support and encouragement whenever needed.

• Erik particularly cared for homeless individuals. He insisted on taking stockings to homeless people at Christmas, calling it the one holiday tradition that truly mattered. His family later learned he regularly visited and talked with homeless people in Gainesville.

“He just reached out for people who would suffer,” Christine said. “He just had a lot of empathy.”

Erik championed community initiatives through his family’s angel tree program for the Okaloosa County Academy, covering the cost of school uniforms and shoes for underprivileged students even while managing college expenses. One year, he was moved to tears talking about an 8-year-old student who didn’t have shoes and bought them himself.

After a suicide attempt in 2016, the family became acutely aware they were “on borrowed time” with Erik, as Christine described it. Rather than hospitalize him repeatedly, they chose to accept him as he was and be present during his darkest moments.

• “We just always made sure to be thankful and recognize we have him. We’re just lucky we have him, because at any moment we won’t,” Christine said. “When we had him, we had him…and he showed up for everybody all the time.”

On a Monday in January 2023, Erik was hospitalized at Shands Hospital in Gainesville following a suicide attempt from which he would not recover. When his family arrived, hospital staff reminded them he was a registered organ donor.

Christine initially worried that organ donation would prevent Erik from having an open casket funeral, but learned that wasn’t the case. The family signed the paperwork, beginning a process that gave them four days with Erik before his organs were harvested on Thursday.

“What that allowed for our family, which I didn’t even know we needed at the time, was time to say goodbye to him,” Christine said. 

• The hospital staff provided grief counselors, made imprints of Erik’s hands and provided copies of his heartbeat. On the final day, they performed an honor walk before taking him to surgery.

Erik’s heart went to a 12-year-old girl in Florida. One of his corneas went to a doctor in the United Arab Emirates, allowing him to continue practicing medicine. In total, Erik made 150 donations of tissue, corneas and major organs, with his tissue donations benefiting 143 people.

“The impact is almost like that’s exactly how it was supposed to be, that’s what Erik was meant for,” Christine said.

For the Rose Bowl Parade, Erik will be represented through a “floragraph” — his picture created from seeds and coffee grounds, as all elements of the parade floats must be made from organic materials like flowers, seeds or nuts. His floragraph will be one of approximately 20 donors recognized on the float.

• OneLegacy is flying Christine, her husband and their youngest son Sean to Pasadena, covering all expenses including hotel, meals and parade attendance. The family will also help assemble the float and speak to the media about organ donation and Erik’s story.

Christine, who is now a therapist specializing in mental health, said the organ donation has been an unexpected blessing after losing Erik.

“We were so blessed just to have him. He lived a full life for 22 years. He always showed up for people, and in death he was able to show up again,” she said. “Of course we miss him everyday, but one of the biggest blessings about losing Erik has been this organ donation. Losing a child is the worst thing as a mom or a dad, you just want your child’s memory to stay alive — and that is what organ donation has provided for us. He is still very much alive.”

Erik’s brother-in-law captured his essence at the funeral: “In life he lived for others and in death he gave life to others.”

• The family continues to honor Erik’s memory. His brother Zachary, now stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, is pursuing his college degree in Erik’s honor. His sister named her youngest son Erik Warren after him. His brother Sean, a musical theater student, performed two songs at Erik’s funeral and has channeled his grief into his art.

For families dealing with depression or mental health struggles, Christine offers this advice based on her experience with Erik:

“Sit with your people. Instead of expecting somebody who’s depressed to come into your world, you need to be willing to enter their world and be uncomfortable with them,” she said. “Just show up for people. Go to people in their darkness. They’re not going to come to you, go to them.”

Christine started a random acts of kindness campaign in January, the month Erik was born and died, encouraging others to “just show up” for people the way Erik always did throughout his life.

The Rose Bowl Parade airs on New Year’s Day 2026, where viewers will see Erik’s floragraph among the donor tributes on the OneLegacy Donate Life float.

If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK  to 741741.