Fallen Arizona state trooper to be remembered on Rose Parade float
Dec 5, 2022, 4:45 AM
PHOENIX — As crowds pack the streets of Pasadena for the upcoming Rose Parade, they’ll see one entry that honors an Arizona man’s ultimate sacrifice and his continued call for service.
The Donate Life America float will feature a floragraph of fallen Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper Tyler Edenhofer. It will be one of 44 floral memorial portraits of organ, eye and tissue donors from across the United States that will adorn the float.
His mom, Deborah Edenhofer, got to see it for the first time on Wednesday as it was unveiled at the Donate Life Arizona headquarters.
“He was so humble,” Edenhofer said of her son. “He wouldn’t want all this, but I know he definitely is honored.”
She added the final touches on the portrait by filling in Tyler’s eyebrows with a light brown powder.
“It kind of felt like he was here,” Edenhofer said afterwards, jokingly adding that she never thought she’d ever do her son’s eyebrows.
The 24-year-old state trooper was shot and killed in 2018 while responding to a call of a man throwing rocks at cars along Interstate 10 in Avondale.
“Last week of field training is when I lost him,” Edenhofer said. “He had so much more to give, so much more to do. And he would’ve done it. He was so dedicated.”
Tyler was able to restore vision for two people and help 20 others with his cornea and tissue donations.
Edenhofer said she encourages others to follow in her son’s footsteps and register as organ, eye and tissue donors.
“He’s still serving,” she said. “Other people can be the same. They can be heroes as well and save people’s lives.”
