2019 Steve McElvene

Name:                                     Steve McElvene

Type of Donation:             Tissue donor

Age and Location:             Age 20 – Fort Wayne, IN

Donation Date:                   5/12/2016

Sponsor:                                Honored by Community Tissue Services

STEVE’S STORY

On the basketball court—and in life—Steve McElvene made a big impression. In his first season playing for the University of Dayton Flyers, Steve, or “Big Steve” as teammates and fans called him, blocked more shots in one season than any Dayton player—ever. The personable, seven-foot center also impressed fans off the court. Always sporting a smile, Steve never hesitated to take photos with fans who recognized him in public, which according to Steve’s mom, Jenell Shoals, happened a lot.

“He was just a happy person,” Jenell said. “He never wanted anyone to be upset—he always wanted everyone to be happy, and he would go out of his way to make sure everybody was happy.”

Two months after helping his team reach the 2016 NCAA tournament, Steve McElvene, just 20 years old, died at his home in New Haven, Indiana, collapsing from what was later determined to be an undiagnosed heart condition—hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

While it was a tragic end to a vibrant life and a promising career, Steve made a decision the day before he died that affirmed the kind of man he was—he registered his decision to be an organ and tissue donor. Visiting the BMV with his mom, Steve, consistent with his “go out of his way for others” nature, looked her in the eye and said, “yeah, mom, I know what I’m doing. I want to be a donor.”

Transcending any performance on the basketball court and affirming the value of life, “Big Steve’s” decision that day resulted in his tissue donation—skin grafts, bone grafts, and vein —that eventually healed more than 75 people.

Because of her son’s tissue donation, Jenell Shoals is able to talk about hope. She will tell you how Steve’s donation decision inspired his friends—and his two teenage brothers—to register as donors. She will also tell you that everyone still thinks about him and that he is not forgotten.

“He’s still alive…living through other people,” Jenell says.