Organ donation event to be held in honor of slain clerk’s office employee

An event to encourage organ donation and to support a program that advocates for it will be held at the Whitley Circuit Clerk’s office in Corbin in honor of a former employee, tragically murdered in his home along with his wife and daughter last year.

Kevin Hendrix was murdered, along with his wife and daughter, last February.

On Friday, Feb. 12, Trust For Life will host its “Be a Legend” organ donation event at the office from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in honor of former office employee Kevin Hendrix. The organization was created by the Kentucky Circuit Court Clerk’s Association in 1992 to help encourage organ donation. It is part of a larger, national non-profit group.
Donna Broughton, Chief Deputy at the Whitley County Circuit/District Clerk’s office in Corbin, said Hendrix was “just a wonderful person” to work alongside. He served as disability and domestic violence clerk in the office.

“He just always thought about the overall well-being of the office,” Broughton said, recalling a time when he rescheduled an important doctor’s appointment in order to accommodate trials coming up that day in court.

“He was always willing to do whatever you asked him to do,” she added. “He enjoyed learning new things and being around people. We do miss him a lot here. He was dependable and he was devoted.”

Hendrix, his wife Sara, and their daughter Gracie, were murdered in what police think was an ambush-style attack in their home on Feb. 11, 2014 by their adopted 16-year-old son Jason Hendrix.

Jason Hendrix was killed days later in a shootout with police in Baltimore, MD.

Holding this year’s Trust for Life event in honor of Hendrix is fitting, she said, because he always showed he was willing to sacrifice and do what was needed on the job.
She’s hoping his can-do spirit will serve as infectious encouragement for others.

Whitley District Judge Cathy Prewitt, and regular contributor to Trust for Life, praised Hendrix and said his memory lives on.

“I enjoyed working with Kevin. He was very professional and always wanted to do a good job. He is missed.”

Less than one percent of all people who are registered organ donors die in a manner conducive to organ donation. Broughton said that’s why it is important that as many people as possible sign up to donate, to make the potentially life-saving pool of people larger, thereby making successful organ donations more likely.

“There are over 25 organs and parts of the body that can be donated,” Broughton said. “A lot of people know about the heart and lungs, kidney and liver … things like that. But did you know you could donate your cornea? Muscle tissue and bone marrow can donated and even veins.”

Broughton estimated roughly 40 percent of people who obtain a driver’s license through her office would actually sign up to become an organ donor. But she thinks everybody should do so. Many don’t because of misconceptions, she added.

“A lot of people think that maybe they will not try to save their lives if they are placed in intensive care or afraid they may not be resuscitated, which is nowhere near true,” Broughton said.

About 90 percent of people agree to donate $1 to the Trust for Life program when they obtain a license.

Broughton said she hopes the event on Feb. 12 will be a good way for people not only to remember Kevin Hendrix, but to honor his memory by signing up to be an organ donor or to give financially to the cause.

The Corbin branch of the Whitley Circuit/District Clerk’s Office is located in the Corbin City Hall annex just down from the entrance to the Corbin Police Department.