EAST FRANKLIN – Students, faculty and staff at East Franklin Junior High School gathered with family and friends of Noah Trapp on Thursday to pay tribute to the little boy who had a big impact on everyone he met.

Trapp, 8, who was tragically killed in a four-wheeler accident on Sept. 17, was known for the big smile he always had for anyone and everyone that crossed his path.

School guidance counselor Alissa Moore said she didn’t know anyone who was quite as loved as Trapp was.

“Noah was probably the most popular child at our school,” she said. “He was so outgoing and friendly and always had the best attitude about everything. He was just someone you loved to be around.”

Losing Trapp was something that was hard on the entire community and the small, close-knit student body and faculty at EFJS, where his mom Leann, is also the school’s third grade teacher.

To help the students celebrate Trapp’s life, the eighth grade class decided to plan a balloon release ceremony in his memory.

Lane Yancey, who coordinated the event, said it was a way for the students to remember Trapp and to seek healing.

“This ceremony gave the students one final good memory,” Yancey said. “This was a happy day, not a sad day.”

The entire school, along with many visitors, wore shirts at Thursday’s ceremony with the phrase “Never Overlook Another Heart” on the back, a slogan coined using the letters in Trapp’s first name.

“Noah never overlooked anyone,” said Bro. Darryl Whitehead, Trapp’s pastor at Pleasant Hill FCM Church. “He loved everyone and served as a reminder that we should love others, too, which is what the slogan means.”

After a few words from Whitehead and Principal Scott Wiginton, red balloons were released into the air bearing cards that would let anyone who found one of the balloons know what a special person Trapp was.

Cathy Wilson, who was Trapp’s first grade teacher, said Trapp was definitely “one-of-a-kind.”

“I don’t think Noah knew how to be mean,” Wilson said. “He just loved everybody and wanted to be friends with everybody. And you just couldn’t help but want to be his friend. He was definitely a blessing.”

Moore said Noah was very involved in school, but he was also involved in his church, Pleasant Hill FCM Church in East Franklin.

“Noah loved to sing at his church and a lot of times he would help the choir director lead the singing,” she said. “He loved dancing, too, and basically doing anything that would make people smile.

“He will be missed so much and we will never forget him.”

Trapp’s family said they appreciate all the love and support shown to them by friends, family and community members who continue to honor Trapp’s memory.