A Tribute To N. We will miss you.
Noah “N” Echon-Reyes, 1999 - 2022, of Meridian, died June 3, 2022, at the age of 22. Services will be held at Cloverdale Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Cloverdale Cemetery. Noah was born July 18, 1999 at St. Luke's Hospital in Boise. They were the son of Ophelia Echon-Reyes and Earl Reyes
About 24 hours ago, I was waiting out a rain storm, hoping for a dry window to begin a long bike ride home. At the peak of the storm, I got the news that N Echon-Reyes had passed earlier in the weekend. The world seemed to break in two.
I can't begin to describe the loss and pain our Boise Bicycle Project team and so many people in the community are feeling right now. I can't begin to imagine what N’s family is feeling. N mattered so much to so many.
N’s history at BBP began as a volunteer. They were hooked from the beginning, showing up to every class, every volunteer night, and every chance to be involved. N was still in their teens when they were hired on as a mechanic, and it didn’t take long before they were teaching mechanic classes and leading volunteer nights. I have never met someone so committed to empowering others by putting the tools in their hands. I've never met someone more enthusiastic at making youth feel welcomed and important.
N continued volunteering at BBP after beginning a new career in education. They were a regular during our volunteer nights, always up for teaching new volunteers how to work on kids bikes. They were a staple at our Mobile Fix-it stops, always handing over the tools and teaching kids how to work on their own bicycles. It’s hard to put a number on the amount of people N impacted at BBP alone. From the bikes N fixed for children, to the amount of people N shared their knowledge with… it has to be in the 1000s.
I will never forget their last Mobile Fix-it stop at Whitney Elementary. There were two young women from South Jr High interested in learning how to fix their own flats. We immediately paired them with N, and the tools were immediately in their hands. They both left with working bikes and the knowledge to fix their own flats going forward.
My last memory and moment with N was on May 19, 2022 at our first Kid's Fix-it Night at BBP since the beginning of the pandemic. That night N worked alongside several volunteers to assist a family of six recently arrived refugees from Congo. Everyone (volunteers, staff, the family) left with greasy hands, repaired bicycles, and an opportunity to share space with each other. N sent at least three kids out the door that evening on working bicycles and reminded them they could “come back to BBP to learn more anytime.”
Yesterday, I rode through the rain trying to make sense of this loss, and I couldn't. I still can’t wrap my head around N not being here. This community just lost someone truly special and someone that made everything and everyone around them better and brighter. They, like many other that we lost too soon, mattered so much. We will never forget them, or the impact they made.
Details about the funeral are available in their obituary in the Idaho Statesman. All who loved and were positively impacted by N are encouraged to attend.
