‘Still making people’s lives better’

If Kevin Pryor were alive today, his family says he probably would have told the crowd at the Balboa Peninsula fire station to go out, have fun and quit fussing over him.

The Newport Beach firefighter, who died at 31, was a man’s man who loved the outdoors, doing celebrity impressions and the camaraderie of his fellow firefighters. Eighteen months after dying from an aneurysm at his home, Pryor lives on in the minds and hearts of those who knew him.

On Monday morning, Pryor’s family joined local firefighters and representatives from One Legacy, a nonprofit that works with families of organ donors, to decorate a “flora-graph” likeness of Pryor on a float appearing in this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. One Legacy is the Orange County chapter of Donate a Life, whose float will travel the parade route.

“It just seems to make sense with Kevin ... he’s still making people’s lives better,” said Eric Pryor, Kevin Pryor’s brother. “I think he’d be a little embarrassed with all the attention.”

Seven of Kevin Pryor’s organs were donated.

“I’m very proud of him. His spirit will live on in all those he helped,” said his mother, Margaret. She said that as she decorated his picture last week in Los Angeles, it felt as though he was looking on, giving her tips.

Kevin Pryor’s face will be one of 76 from 38 states that will decorate Donate a Life’s float on New Year’s Day. Donate a Life officials, Kevin Pryor’s family and former co-workers sprinkled various organic materials, like coffee grounds and cream of wheat, onto what would soon become an accurate likeness of his face.

The parade rules state that anything visible on the float must be organic, Donate a Life officials said.

“I’m overwhelmed by the amount of people who came,” said Mark Pryor, Kevin Pryor’s father. “It shows that there definitely is a family feeling to Newport, and they take care of their own.”

“Any time someone’s as remarkable as Kevin, people rally around that,” said Newport Beach Fire Chief Steve Lewis. “There are people living right now because of Kevin, and that’s a good way to look at it.”