Clayton Austin Spruce, Organ Donor, Shawnee, Oklahoma, July 17,1996 - June 17, 2011

Injuries from a traffic accident cut his life short at age 14, but Clayton Austin Spruce of Shawnee shared the gift of life with others. He went by his middle name of Austin.  Now, through organ donation, others have a second chance.

His mother, Elizabeth Sidmore, Shawnee, said Austin was always one to help people any way he could. She knew he would want to help others, she said, so she turned to LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma. Now knowing others have been blessed through her son has been a comfort in the days since his death.

“Three families aren’t having to plan their loved ones’ funerals,” she said, adding Austin’s liver and kidneys have helped those three people. While she wishes he was still here, Sidmore said he lives on in them.
“Their lives have changed and our lives have changed,” she said.

“He was a great kid. Anybody who knew him loved him,” his mother said, adding his smile touched others and made them feel better.

Austin, who recently graduated eighth grade from North Rock Creek School in Shawnee, was set to begin his high school years at Meeker High School.

He enjoyed paintball and riding bicycles. He also loved to fish and drive tractors and four-wheelers.

Austin was recently in football camp and loved sports, she said. He had played football at Yukon and was going to play for Meeker this fall. He also played basketball and baseball and was on the NRC Cougars track team.

“He was very athletic,” she said, adding he loved the outdoors. “He couldn’t be in the house...it didn’t matter whether it was 20 below or 120 degrees.”