Published March 2026
There was no hesitation. When the doctor told Pat her son was not going to survive, she immediately wanted to honor his wishes and donate his organs.
Tony had a giving spirit; he once literally gave the shirt off his back to a freezing friend, and that generosity extended to organ donation. When Tony got his license, he checked the box to register as an organ donor, the result of a family conversation.
Thanks to that decision, Tony saved three lives and healed others through organ and tissue donation.
“It was terrible, the worst feeling ever knowing that I was losing my son,” Pat said. “But I knew he was going to help other people.”
Tony’s Legacy
Pat honors Tony’s memory by raising awareness for organ donation. She speaks to high school classes, educating the students on how donation can save and heal lives.
Tony’s legacy also lives on through A Hero’s Legacy – The Tony Rivera Foundation, Inc, which provides assistance and support to anyone ages 15-25 that have encountered hardships in life due to illness, loss or life-altering family changes.
“He is truly my hero,” Pat said. “Tony’s life had meaning, and his death has meaning.”
Tony had seen the impact of organ donation first-hand. Months before Tony donated his kidneys and liver, his cousin Steven had received a life-saving lung transplant.
“This is exactly what Tony would want,” Pat recalled saying in the hospital. “So this is exactly what we are going to do.”
‘Seen, valued & loved’
Tony loved sports. Growing up, he played everything from basketball to baseball to swimming and captained the high school swimming team his senior year.
He loved all Philly sports teams, and the Eagles were his favorite. When he wasn’t fixing up cars and motorcycles or working at the landscaping business he built from the ground up, Tony was with friends.
He had a way of making you feel “seen, valued and loved,” Pat recalled. “He gathered brothers and sisters everywhere he went.” Those friends recall with fondness the frequent short, joyful videos he recorded.
In keeping with that spirit, Pat is happy that Tony could provide “hope, healing and peace” even in passing.
“I love to tell Tony’s story,” Pat said, “who he was and how he lived his life.”