Devron Lewis was very close to his family, especially his father, Herbert. They were best friends and spent a lot of time together, especially watching football games. Devron went to Harbor College, became a diesel mechanic and went to work at MTA, where Herbert is a field technician. Devron’s creative outlet was music. He wanted to go into the music business, so he developed his skills and produced a CD, “Let It Be Known,” and a DVD called “Don’t Depend on Me” -- a strange title from someone who could always be depended on, his father recalled.

On March 28, 2003, Devron, 28, was on his way from work to show his father the new wheels on his Caprice when he was shot. A few hours after he was rushed to the hospital, he was declared brain dead. “About an hour later, a lady from OneLegacy came up to me and asked me if I wanted to donate his organs and tissues. I said ‘no,’” remembered Herbert.

“But his mom told me something that I didn’t know,” Herbert continued. “Devron had a friend on dialysis in need of a kidney. They finally found a family member who was a match, but at the last minute she changed her mind. Devron just could not comprehend, why, if given the ability to save a life, someone would not do it. He became so fixated with organ donation. One month before his death, he made his mother promise that if anything happened to him, she would donate his organs.”

Devron saved four lives with his heart, kidneys, liver, and pancreas. “The way I feel about it now is that I’m very supportive of OneLegacy,” said Herbert. “I’m a Donate Life Ambassador and I do everything I can to support what they do in our community. Now, whenever I think of Devron, I think of a song Yolanda Adams sang when we were at the Essence Jazz festival, ‘Open Up My Heart.’ That’s really what this is all about.”