Community mourns child’s death
East Franklin Junior High School principal Scott Wiginton said he would never forget the smile that beamed across Noah Trapp’s little face.
After all, it was always there, Wiginton said.
“He always wanted to know what I was doing and where I was going,” the principal remembered fondly Tuesday morning.
“If I saw him in the gym, he wanted to know what I was doing. If I saw him in the hallway, he wanted to know where I was going. That’s just the way he was. He was so special to everyone.”
Trapp, an 8 year-old second grader at the school, was tragically killed late Saturday evening in a four-wheeler accident while riding with his grandfather.
Franklin County Coroner Elzie Malone pronounced Trapp dead at the scene, listing head and chest trauma as the cause of death.
Reports indicate the four-wheeler overturned in a small ravine, leaving Trapp pinned underneath and his grandfather injured.
“It is just a terrible thing,” Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver said.
“Sometimes things happen that we can’t explain and this is one of them.”
Trapp’s pastor at Pleasant Hill FCM Church, Bro. Darryl Whitehead, said this is one of the hardest things that he’s ever faced as a pastor.
“I really can’t describe it,” Whitehead said Tuesday when asked if he could put the loss in words.
“I have had to bury several family members and friends, but I can’t think of anything any harder than this. I can’t hardly think of anyone that had a positive impact on everyone they met, but Noah did. He left a positive impact on everybody, everywhere he went.”
The hallways inside East Franklin Junior High School were lined with cards, letters and tributes in Noah’s honor Tuesday, Wiginton said.
“This doesn’t just affect our second graders, this affects our entire community,” Wiginton said.
“Everyone loved Noah. Everyone knew him and they loved him.”
Trapp’s mother, Leann, is the school’s third grade teacher.
“You get close to a lot of the kids, but there are some that you are around even a little more. With his mom being a teacher here, he was around so much, we all got so close to him. I really can’t think of anyone that was more loved than him.”
Trapp’s parents, Brad and Leann Trapp, had been working to re-build their home after losing their house in the April 27 tornado.
Over the summer, Noah had surgery on his leg and had a few setbacks along the way to recovery, but through it all, Whitehead said Noah never lost his smile.
“Anyone else would have been ready to throw their hands up, but not Noah and the Trapp family,” he said.
“No matter what, he had a smile on his face and he wanted to love on you. He had the kind of unconditional love that God planned for us to have. He loved everyone.
“The Lord gave him to Brad and Leann, but he shared him with our entire community. Right now, the Lord’s love is all that can fill this void.”
Friends of the Trapp family have established a memorial fund for those interested in making a donation in his memory. Contributions can be sent to the Noah Trapp Memorial Account, Valley State Bank, P.O. Box 1234, Russellville, AL 35653. Contributions can also be made in person at the bank or one of its branches.
