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Gary Mirliss was a dedicated family man who never hesitated when it came to helping others.
"He was such a loving and caring person," said his wife Dorothy Mirliss. "If he only had a nickel in his pocket and someone needed it, he would give it to them. He was able to touch many lives in his short life, and never forgot a face or name."
Gary, a former patient of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, passed away in 2001 after a battle with leukemia. In Gary's honor, his son Gregory, along with his mother and sister, Emily, started a yearly blood drive to benefit what is now known as the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital. With the drive's success, the family founded the Gary Mirliss Memorial Foundation in 2011, which brings awareness and support to cancer patients and their families.
The ninth annual blood drive took place Jan. 5 at the King Philip Middle School in Norfolk. It drew a crowd that donated 88 units of blood, adding to the hundreds of units that have been collected over the years and encouraging more participants to sign up for the bone marrow registry.
The annual event is held every January because the first month of the year has traditionally sees the lowest blood donation levels. The event has grown so much over the years that personnel from the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center and Children's Hospital Boston now staff the drive.
In addition to helping others by donating blood, the drive has become an opportunity for friends, family and others to come together to celebrate the life of Gary Mirliss.
"People come from as far as Vermont just to donate blood and get together," said Gregory.
What the family remembers most about Gary is the positive attitude that he maintained throughout his illness and the support that the DF/BWCC staff provided to him and the entire Mirliss family.
"Everyone was so good to us, and they did all they could to help my father," said Gregory. "We wanted to do something to give back."
All of the blood and platelets collected at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center benefit patients at BWH and DFCI. To make an appointment, learn more about donating or find out how you can host a blood drive, call 617-632-3206, or email blooddonor@partners.org.