If you like to watch the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. each New Year's morning, take note of the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float this year, which will include the image of an Omak man being honored for his life and for saving two lives - after his death.

Marty Palmanteer was a United States Air Force veteran and a proud member of the Colville Tribe. But he was also a beloved husband and father, known to most as a kind and comical man who always made people laugh, according to LifeCenter Northwest, which shared his story.

After witnessing the impact of a life-saving liver transplant for his brother-in-law in 2011, Palmanteer felt compelled to register himself as an organ donor. He wanted to offer hope and the possibility of a better future for someone else.

Sadly, his time came much sooner than expected. Palmanteer passed away only five years later at the age of 50 from a brain hemorrhage. Palmanteer's family was supportive of his decision to be an organ donor and he saved two people with the donation of his kidneys.

One of his kidney recipients is 73-year-old Walla Walla woman Kathy Amende. Amende shared that she was on dialysis seven days a week prior to her transplant. She didn't have the energy to garden or even socialize.

"I'm lucky now," said Amende. "I can do whatever I want to do," according to the release prepared by LIfeCenter Northwest.

Amende supports herself as a substitute teacher and is busy with her adult children, her friends, and her two little dogs thanks to Palmanteer's choice to be an organ donor.

Palmanteer will be honored for his gifts with a floral portrait that will adorn the Donate Life Rose Parade float in the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Year's Day. The parade float is dedicated to celebrating the life-saving legacies of deceased organ donors and bringing awareness to organ and tissue donation.

The parade starts at 8 a.m. on NBC, ABC, Hallmark Channel, and Univision, and on several streaming services.

There are more than 1,500 people in Washington waiting for an organ transplant, including 32 from Native American communities.

LifeCenter Northwest is a community-based nonprofit and federally-designated organ procurement organization serving Alaska, Montana, northern Idaho, and Washington - the largest geographic donation service area in the United States. For more information, or to register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor, visit lcnw.org.