Houston Woman Honored, Remembered At Rose Parade

HOUSTON, TX — The beauty of the Rose Parade intertwined with the beautiful soul of Anna Klein earlier this week in Pasadena, California. Anna loved family, horses and Texas, but not nearly as much as she loved God.

Anna Lynn Klein fell from a horse that caused a brain injury, which eventually led to her death at age 24 in November 2016.

Anna selflessly served Jesus Christ, who she accepted as her savior at age 5. Then last week before millions watching, others selflessly honored her spirit.

In preparation for the Rose Parade, Dignity Memorial locations across the country hosted floragraph finishing events in the weeks leading up to the parade. At the events, family and friends paid tribute to their loved ones, who had made organ, eye and tissue donations, by putting the finishing touches on their floragraph portraits.

See, every part of every float in the Rose Parade must be made from flowers. For the ‘Gift of Time’ float that honored several people who’d donated organs, a portrait of Anna was weaved into a beautiful canvass for the family.

“The Donate Life Rose Parade float helps raise awareness of the important cause of organ donation and helps our client families celebrate the lives of their loved ones while healing during a time of loss,” said Phil Jacobs, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Service Corporation International. “We are passionate about the cause and for the past 10 years it’s been our honor to support Donate Life’s mission of increasing the number of organ donors around the country to help save lives.”

Anna was born on June 23, 1992 in Houston to Steve and Mary Klein.

She was homeschooled and enjoyed her friends and classes through her Coop Program. Following graduation from high school in 2011, Anna attended Lone Star College to pursue a Veterinary Tech degree. Over the years, Anna enjoyed playing the piano and blessed her family gatherings with her beautiful music.

Her love for horses began when she was 9 and never waned. She competed in dressage and continued to take lessons over the years. She loved spending time riding and taking care of her own horses, Cloud and Stormy. In the last months of her life, she worked in her dream job as a wrangler at Cypress Trails Equestrian Center.

The blog that Anna maintained through 2014 (texascountryprincess.blogspot.com) states that her loves are: God first, family and friends second, Texas third. The Texas part includes horses, but horses were just as much a part of her life as friends and family.

She often wrote in her blog, mostly about worshipping God, loving horses and why Texas is a pretty darn good place to live. She finished every post with the words, God Bless, Anna Klein.

Anna lived a life of selfless service to her family and others. She frequently volunteered at Houston's First Baptist Church's Faith Center and bookstore, and regularly went on mission trips to places such as Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Latvia. She also served at SIRE (Self Improvement through Riding Education); a program using horses to benefit those with disabilities.

Upon her sudden death, her funeral services went through Dignity Memorial, which is one of the main sponsors for the Donate Life’s celebration of its 15th annual Rose Parade float. The new “Making a Difference Rose Dedication Program” presents honorary silk roses to recognize and give thanks to organ procurement organizations, transplant centers, eye banks and tissue banks across the United States who share the mission of saving and healing lives through organ, tissue and cornea donations.

“We are excited to expand our sponsorship with Donate Life to recognize organ procurement organizations across the country making a difference in their communities,” said Jacobs. “The Rose Parade and the National Rose Dedication Program are ideal backdrops to share the message of hope made possible by organ donation among the transplant community, donors, recipients and families who have lost loved ones.”

Service Corporation International, which is headquartered in Houston, is North America’s leading provider of death care products and services.

And last week during the 129th Rose Parade, SCI provided Anna at least one more time to ride with her family, albeit a float instead of a horse. And probably somewhere out there, she's thanking them with a hearty "God Bless, Anna Klein."

Photos by Scott Weersing/via Service Corporation International