By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The sun came out from behind the clouds and shined down warmly on those who exited Bucyrus High School Monday and prepared to send a final good-bye to Noah Lear.
Bucyrus Superintendent Kevin Kimmel and Principal Mark Burke stood sentinel at the doors leading out of the basketball locker room hallway as Lear’s casket was taken out of the school. Surrounded by over 1,100 family and friends, the campus was silent but for the strains of a Christian song drifting from a vehicle in the parking lot. First one balloon, then another, was slowly let loose. Then in a rush, red, black, and white balloons took to the air, the brisk breeze taking them east over the town.
“I don’t think any words can describe how emotional the day was,” Kimmel said from the sidewalk in front of the school as vehicles slowly filtered out of the parking lot. “Really, the last two weeks. No words can describe the hurt everybody is feeling now.”
Kimmel opened up the funeral service by welcoming everyone. He was followed by Pastor Jan LaSalle giving a prayer and singer Rob Skaggs performing songs for those congregated. Phil Joseph, who coached Lear in basketball as a freshman, spoke upon request by the family. Pastor Ray LaSalle ended the ceremony with his own remarks.
Lear, a junior at Bucyrus High School, passed away while in hospice care on the morning of March 16. He was injured on Feb. 27 while playing basketball with friends at Calvary Baptist Church. When Lear went up for a slam dunk, the pole supporting the basket broke and fell on his neck and head. Surgery was performed after Lear was transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, but he never recovered from a medically-induced coma.
The school district informed the high school students prior to classes last Wednesday and announced that the district would be closed for Lear’s funeral on Monday, which was held in the Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium. The community completely filled the home-side bleachers with another couple hundred on the court during the funeral service.
Kimmel believed the high school was an important place for the funeral to be held, not only because Lear was a part of the basketball team but also because it was large enough to handle the number of community members who attended the calling hours on Sunday and the funeral service on Monday.
As Kimmel looked back over the past few weeks, he had thought the worst day of his career came when Burke talked with students about Lear’s condition a week ago. He did not realize that an even worse day was coming the following Wednesday when they had to make the announcement of Lear’s passing to the students.
In Kimmel’s mind, he believed that Lear would make it through his injuries. But those hopes were dashed when he received a call from Burke informing him of Lear’s deteriorating condition.
“That was really when it hit home that he may not be able to get through this,” said Kimmel.
“The family wanted the students here to be the first ones to hear the news,” Kimmel said. “Dr. Burke called the students together and we had grief counselors in from Crawford County Trauma Team. Really, it was not a typical day in the life of a student that day. There was a lot of students leaning on each other and we brought our students back from the career center (Pioneer Career and Technology Center) to be with their friends.
“As a leader of a school system, this is by far the toughest period of time I’ve had to deal with,” Kimmel added.
“I think it’s tough to put words to explain exactly how it could happen or why it happened. I think that’s the big question that a lot of his classmates and staff members and family members have,” Kimmel said.
Students will return to class on Tuesday with grief counseling being made available.
“We’ll do the best we can to come back to some type of a normal school routine,” Kimmel said. “We’re off Thursday through Monday for spring break. I think that will be welcome – kids can spend time with their family and friends. Then we’ll look to bring them back next Tuesday to finish out the school year. There’s no book answer, I guess, for what the next step is, but we’ll try to lean on each other and get back to some type of routine.”
Cards and letters can be sent to the Lear family at the following address: PO Box 1054, Bucyrus, OH 44820. A Facebook page has also been set up at Battle of the Lear.
A benefit will be held at 4 p.m. on April 2 at Bucyrus High School. Anyone wishing additional information may contact Sonya Young at 419-617-6939 or Leann Quaintance at 419-562-5642.
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