LUBBOCK, Texas — The Levelland Animal Control Officer who critically injured in a crash that killed his work partner, Crystal Goforth, on October 13, has died.
Jonathan “Jon” Corder spent two weeks in the ICU at University Medical Center before his family made the difficult decision to take him off of life support on Thursday, October 22.
Corder is an organ donor with an organization called LifeGift. The nonprofit supports families through the organ and tissue donation process and delivers lifesaving transplants to the recipients who need them.
Levelland Police Chief Albert Garcia said even in death, we see a shining example of Corder’s servant heart.
“He is blessing people all over the United States by being a member of Life-Gift,” Garcia said. “Jon is going to help dozens of people, and I can just see the smile he’d have on his face knowing that.”
Thursday night, UMC gave the 41-year-old an honor walk for his loved ones to be able to say goodbye and honor him for his gift of life.
Kevin Myer is the president and chief executive officer of LifeGift. He said Corder’s donation is already impacting the lives of Texans and Americans in a life-changing way.
“Across the hospitals in Texas, there are people who are in the ICUs right now waiting for a transplant, and the only way they’re going to have their lives restored is through the generosity of individuals like Officer Corder and his family,” Myer said.
According to LifeGift, over 106,000 people are waiting for a transplant in the U.S., and nearly 10,000 of those are Texans.
Myer said even through tragedy, organ and tissue donations offer an incredible opportunity to impact lives forever.
“With public service, first responders, police, fire, EMS, Animal Control, it’s just incredible,” Myer said. “They’ve spent their whole lives serving others, and then even in their death, they’re continuing to serve others. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Corder worked with the Levelland Animal Control division since March 2021. He leaves behind an 18-year-old son.
“We couldn’t be more devastated,” Garcia said. “Jon was a great guy and a great member of the team.”
To learn more about LifeGift or the donation process, visit the LifeGift website.
By registering to be an organ, eye and tissue donor, you can save or improve as many as 75 lives. To register, visit the Donate Life Texas website.
