A Lindenwood student who had started student teaching in Tennessee died on Aug. 18.

Noah Graham, 23, was a college student from Millington, Tennessee, majoring in physical education with a K-12 teacher certification when he died, according to an announcement sent out last week to Lindenwood students and faculty. The announcement did not disclose a cause of death.

His service was on Saturday, Aug. 28 in Millington. Visitation was held the night before, and early that Saturday morning, according to Munford Funeral Homes.

Graham was an assistant baseball coach at Millington Central High School where his parents live.

Alex Canty, a friend of Graham’s and a Lindenwood baseball alumnus, said that Graham was also playing baseball until he suffered an injury and was forced to stop. 

Outside of school and coaching, friends said Graham was a good person to be around. He had a friendly personality that made him adored by a lot of people. 

“Noah was a vibrant person. He was always making people laugh and he was very entertaining. There was never a dull moment around Noah in any situation,” Graham’s baseball teammate Addison McNeely III said. 

“He would make a laugh of anything he could, super social with anyone who came along, very friendly, just an all around super good friend, would go out of his way to help out any way he could,” Lindenwood baseball alumnus Beau Collier said.

Along with being a funny and caring person to be around, Graham was someone people would remember. 

“He would teach us the slang of the week,” said Christina Sachs, an academic adviser in the College of Education and Human Services.

Sachs was Graham’s adviser during his time at Lindenwood. She said that she kept a note that she made with all the slang words Graham taught her like “cold,” “triflin,” and “fugazzi.” She would try to find how to use them while talking.  

Graham’s friend Andre Roberts remembered his sophomore year suitemate fondly.

“One of the most memorable things that he leaves in my head is him saying ‘pop a nine’ during baseball. Pop a nine meant hitting 90 mph when pitching since he was a pitcher. I would hear him screaming that from the dugout, or warmups…literally anywhere, anytime,” Roberts said. 

“I wouldn’t have traded his presence for anyone else.”