Léon T. Roach lll was very much an old soul. Wise beyond his years, he had a strong sense of right and wrong and never had a problem standing up for his beliefs. He had a very strong faith in God, but was never judgmental of others. Léon was a caring, generous, smart, handsome and athletic young man.

With a high school GPA of 4.57, Léon had a hard time deciding whether to go to UC Berkeley or UC San Diego (UCSD) for his pre-med education. UCSD won out because he would be able to pole vault there. They treated him like family, and his pole vaulting career was very successful. He was number two in Orange County and made it to the state finals. His goal was to break the UCSD record, and many knew he would.

On September 3, 2009, 19-year-old Léon drove to UCSD to practice before the season began. He was doing rope drills to perfect his swing-up technique. Léon jumped and landed with his feet on the mat, then rolled backwards and off the mat onto the concrete floor. “He was in heaven instantly,” said his mother, MaryAnn. “We take great comfort in knowing that he was doing what he loved most, in the place he loved being the most. He jumped right into God’s arms.

“There was never a question as to whether or not Léon would be a donor. His desire was to be a neurosurgeon and save lives, so in the end he did save lives. The painful part was that we had to keep his body alive for three days on machines so his organs could be used. There were times that I felt it was too hard to do, but then I thought about what Léon would want and the people whose lives his organs would save. We are comforted by the letters that some of the organ recipients have sent to us.”

Two months before he died, Léon had gone on an off-road vintage motorcycle camping trip up the trails of the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada with his father and brother. Now his motorcycle is at the San Diego Automotive Museum along with a video of their adventure.

In Leon’s honor, UCSD created the Léon T Roach III Spirit Award, which is annually to the team that represents the school the best, just as Léon did. The Roach family also established a perpetual scholarship in his name.