J.T. Burud had beautiful blue eyes and an infectious smile. He liked talking with adults, and most would agree he had a wise soul. J.T. was 100% boy and could have had his middle name changed to “trouble”, according to his sister, Jill Stephenson.

“Before he grew out of his crib, he got into mischief that challenged my parents and sisters,” Jill said. “J.T. liked to tease his older three sisters and fit the role perfectly of the pesky younger brother. As siblings, we would have never admitted how much we loved our baby brother. He was so cute and so loving. He liked to hug us, hold our hands and follow us everywhere. J.T. easily won the hearts of all who knew him.”

When J.T. was seven, a friend named Alex was hit by a car and died. Alex was only four, but the two of them were best buddies. J.T. was very upset and wished he could still talk to Alex. His mother told him he could if he prayed to him. So J.T. did and then told her that he felt better afterwards. A couple years later, another friend named Johnny died from getting hit by a car as well. J.T. was deeply affected by both of these losses.

On July 15, 1982, 11-year-old J.T. and a friend were on their way home for baseball practice. Running late, they took a short cut through stopped rush hour traffic. J.T. was hit by a car and sustained blunt force trauma to his brain stem. He was dead at the scene, but a nearby highway patrol officer administered CPR and restored his breathing. J.T. was rushed to the hospital; after 10 ten days on life support, his family made the decision to let him go. The Buruds had been asked to donate his organs and agreed as a family to do so.

“Several months later, we received a letter from the family of a kidney recipient thanking us for our gift of life from J.T.,” said Jill. “I remember well the good feeling it gave us to know that someone else was living because of this. I have carried my brother’s gift in my heart from the day he died. His legacy was resurrected 27 years later when my own son, Ben Kopp, became a casualty of war and became an organ donor. J.T.’s life and death had a direct correlation to Ben’s decision to be an organ donor. They are both sorely missed, but my family and the recipient families will always remember their selflessness.”

Jill’s son, Ben, is also honored with a floragraph on the 2011 Donate Life Float.