Hundreds Mourn Florida Boy Who Had 3 Liver Transplants

MIAMI —  A police honor guard fired a 21-gun salute and a bugler blew taps Saturday at the burial of Ronnie DeSillers, the 7-year-old who died after three liver transplants.

Ronnie was buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery with full honors from the Miami Police Department’s SWAT team, of which he was an honorary member.

At the graveside, Ronnie’s uncle, Osvaldo Marchante, thanked President Reagan, millionaire Victor Posner and all the police, doctors and hospital workers who helped in the boy’s fight for life.

“Ronnie DeSillers is a champ in every sense of the word,” Marchante said, “ . . . but if there’s a message to be learned, we learned that we must educate our people on the subject of organ donation.” About 300 mourners filed past and many left a single flower on the casket.

About 500 people had crowded into St. Raymond Church to hear a requiem Mass for Ronnie. “We see that we can learn from children,” Father Timothy Hannon said in his eulogy. “We can learn to be courageous. We can learn to be trusting. We can learn to respond to love.”

Ronnie’s mother, Maria, wore a simple white linen dress and was silent throughout the rites.

As communion was offered, singer-songwriters Johnny Earl and Carlos Anderson sang “Ronnie’s Song (Help Someone to Live),” which was commissioned by Posner.

Ronnie was born with defective liver ducts. He died Wednesday in Children’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pa., where he had been awaiting a fourth donor liver.