A local girl who lost her life in a 2012 car crash will be remembered in an incredibly unique and prominent way this holiday season.

The name Abby Cecena is one that’s familiar to most everyone in Monroe County.

The 16-year-old Waterloo High School student was involved in many aspects at school, her favorite being drama club.

When she died in a car accident on Aug. 7, 2012, her parents honored her wishes of becoming an organ donor when she turned 18.

Cecena will be remembered and honored for her gift of life this year in the famous Rose Bowl Parade.

Donate Life America’s float in the parade will feature 72 donors’ faces, and Abby’s will be one of them.

The theme for this 12th annual float is “The Never-Ending Story,” and it will have butterflies emerging from books to symbolize the enduring power of organ, eye and tissue donation.

This “floragraph” is made by an artist in California and will be shipped to Waterloo for the family to be shared with family and friends before it’s added to the float.

The Cecenas wanted to share the gift of the floragraph with the community, so they hosted a dedication and unveiling event this past Sunday in the Ss. Peter& Paul Catholic __School gym.

Tammy Cecena, Abby’s mother, said the event was a success.

“We had a really great turnout,” she said. “I think people were genuinely interested in learning about the float and organ donation.”

Cecena told the story of how the family met Abby’s right kidney recipient by total chance.

The Cecenas attended the 2013 Candlelight Memorial Ceremony hosted by Mid-America Transplant Services in St. Louis, and Tammy noticed someone who looks familiar sitting just a few rows in front of them.

“I just happened to look up, and she was right there,” Cecena said. “I went up and introduced myself. If you want to believe your loved ones up above work to make things like that happen, that was that moment.”

The Cecenas plan to start a yearly memorial service to bring awareness for organ donation. “There’s a lot of people in our community who have given or received organs that we don’t even know about,” Cecena said. “It’s an amazing gift.”

She said her family has had nothing but incredible things happen because of Abby’s ability to be an organ donor.

“This doesn’t take away the emotions or the pain, but that’ll never go away,” she said. “But to meet her recipients and see the life they have… That’s an amazing thing. You can’t have Abby back, but you can have the joy from this other gift she could give.”

From Abby’s death came all forms of new life. Her heart went to a woman in South Carolina. Her lungs went to a man in Missouri. Her liver went to a boy in Colorado. Her right kidney went to the woman from Missouri, and her left went to another Missouri woman who had been waiting seven years for a kidney.

“It’s crazy, but amazing,” Cecena said. “This has given us a whole new perspective on life.”

Tammy recalled a conversation with Abby about organ donation just after Abby got her driver’s license.

“When you get your driver’s license, you get a letter in the mail about the rules of the road and an organ donation pamphlet,” she said. “Abby sat at the end of the counter and had this whole conversation with me about wanting to be an organ donor.”

Tammy said Abby was frustrated because, at 16, she couldn’t mark on her license yet that she wanted to be a donor, even though she was all for it.

“I remember telling her that if something happens to a minor, the parents can make the decision,” she said. “Two months after her 16th birthday, we had to make that decision.”

Tammy said the family had no trouble making that decision, because they already knew the answer.

“We no longer view Abby’sdeath as a tragedy but as a way to inspire others to become organ donors,” she said. “Abby’s legacy and spirit will continue to thrive through those who received her organ donations as well as everyone who was inspired by her infectious passion for life itself.”