Jul. 15—Few people brought as much joy and happiness to those around him as did Noah Boler-Kyle.
“Whenever he walked in a room his smile would instantly light it up,” former Decatur Heritage basketball coach and Noah’s adopted father Tommy Kyle said. “He made everyone happy.”
That sentiment seems to be held by everyone who knew him.
“He was always bigger than the room,” said Jason Marshall, Noah’s basketball coach at Decatur Heritage. “He was so charismatic, so funny and just treated people so well. People were drawn to him and he was always smiling.”
Tragically, that smile was taken away over the weekend when Boler-Kyle died after suffering respiratory arrest due to a severe asthma attack. The former Decatur Daily basketball Player of the Year was 25 years old.
“We didn’t expect it when God brought Noah into our lives and we certainly didn’t expect him to be taken from us so soon,” Tommy Kyle said. “You have to trust in God’s plan, though, and we certainly don’t grieve without hope. Noah loved Jesus and we know he’s in a place now that he wouldn’t leave if he had the choice.”
When people think of Boler-Kyle, they usually think of the star basketball player that led Decatur Heritage to its first state championship in 2019, was named the ASWA Class 1A Player of the Year and later played in college at Lee University.
It took a while to get to that point, however.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. He was wanting to come to Decatur Heritage and so he came to an open gym we had,” Marshall said. “This was in middle school and he was already pretty tall but it was clear he had a lot of work to do to be a good basketball player.”
Noah’s soon to be adoptive father Tommy had a more honest reaction that he said makes for a funny story looking back.
“That open gym was the first time I got to see him play. That night we got in the car and my son Jackson, who was friends with Noah, asked me what I thought. I said that I told him he needed to join the band,” Kyle said. “Music was always his first love; he was so talented and he could play like four different instruments. It’s funny now everyone thinks of him as this amazing basketball player because he was horrible when he started.”
As Boler-Kyle’s continued to get taller, eventually reaching 6-foot-9, his basketball skills grew as well. By his senior year he was averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds per game and cementing himself as one of the best basketball players in Decatur Heritage history.
“There’s been few players I’ve coached that had the ability to take over a game like he could and it didn’t matter who we were playing,” Marshall said. “He didn’t have that mean streak because he was just too nice, but he played so hard and he would do whatever it took to help the team. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate.”
When Boler-Kyle was a middle school student at Decatur Heritage, unfortunate circumstances left him in need of a place to stay.
Tommy and Heather Kyle already had six kids living under their roof but welcomed Noah in. By ninth grade he was staying with the Kyle family full time, but was still known then as just Noah Boler.
“We took full custody of him his freshman year but we wanted to keep his last name the same because I had the utmost respect for his biological mom,” Tommy said. “He became our kid, though, and we loved him just as much as all our other kids.”
By Noah’s senior year of college, he decided it was time to honor the love the family that had taken him in had given him.
“I always tell my children when you turn 21 you can do what you want, but until you’re 21 you should really listen to your parents. Well, shortly after Noah turns 21 he calls me and says, ‘Remember when you said I could do what I want when I turned 21?'” Tommy said. “He proceeded to tell me ‘I know why you kept my last name, but when they call my name this year I want them to call your name too.’
“So after that we did an adult adoption of him and at his first game that year they called him Noah Boler-Kyle. I had tears going down my face, it was a moment I’ll never forget.”
Tommy said his son will always be remembered for the impact he made on others.
“If I had to describe him I would say he was the greatest servant. He was always going out of his way to do for others,” he said. “He was so big, but so soft at the same time; just a big teddy bear. He was our gentle giant and that’s how we’ll always remember him.”
Shelton Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Visitation will be Saturday from noon to 2 at Church of the Highlands’ Madison Campus, 330 Nance Road, with a funeral following at 2.
“His physical presence often caught people’s attention first, but it was his heart that people remembered most. Noah had a gentle spirit and a warmth that made others feel seen, welcomed, and valued,” his obituary reads.
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
