Ednan: Saw Beauty in the World and Gave Site to Others

As sisters (I’m Victoria and my sister is Alex), we want to share the story of our dad Ednan—a donor hero. Our dad was always giving all of himself in everything he did. Although we didn’t know about his donation decision until after his passing, it was not surprising to us. We believe our dad registered to be a donor because we have family members with vision loss. My sister has a scratch on her cornea leaving her with only 30% vision. We have a cousin who lost all eyesight by the time she turned 5 years old— thankfully she is thriving and has a family of her own (and even flew an airplane once!).

Our dad was the most amazing, selfless, hilarious, fun-loving, hard-working, and dedicated person we ever had the privilege of knowing. Ednan had so much love in his heart for all living things and demonstrated that to everyone he met. He would give you the shirt on his back, the shoes on his feet and pants, too (if it was not cold!). He persevered through so many trials and tribulations in his life and never gave up. He truly dedicated his life to serving others.

If you asked what our dad did for work, it was more like “What didn’t he do!” Ednan was a D.J., musician, security guard, plumber, woodworker, handled both maintenance and managing an apartment and a truck driver for airing and cooling supplies. His last occupation was driving a bus for a senior care center to transport seniors for errands and field trips. He was a comedian and a cook, too! Our dad was such a great cook that I would ask him for cooking advice all the time. His favorite type of cooking—and the one he was best at—was BBQ! But… he was also so much more! He was a father, son, brother, cousin and good friend.

Our dad enjoyed watching older TV shows like “M.A.S.H.,” “Gilligan’s Island,” and “Happy Days.” He also really loved action movies and one of his favorites was “A Knight’s Tale.” I was so obsessed with “The Lion King” when I was younger that I made him watch it with me probably one hundred times (or so he claimed). He also loved sports and especially watching the Green Bay Packers.

Our dad loved taking photos. He has many cameras and memory cards packed with pictures of anything and everything. Ednan especially loved capturing candid shots of people laughing and just enjoying life. He also cherished taking pictures of things that would remind you of the beauty of this world. It was his feeling that, despite all the pain and ugliness the world can throw at you, there is equal (if not more) beauty if you’re willing to be open to it.

During my dad’s last day, I remember he looked out of the window a lot. Whenever I asked him if he was OK, he said, “Yeah, I’m just taking a look.” I think, even in the last hours, he was still trying to take in the beauty that was there to be seen. My sister and I are so very proud of our dad, Ednan, and so very thankful that he chose to leave a legacy of sight to others—the gift to be able to see the world’s beauty.

My sister and I wish you all the blessings and beauty that this world has to offer.

~Victoria, Alex (and Ednan)