If there’s anything Carla Noble wants people to remember about her son, DeQuavion Lewis, it would be his smile. She wants people to remember the kindness and compassion that beamed in that smile and the adoration for his family and friends that provoked it.

“Dee was a sweet kid, he was a mama’s boy, he was just happy, full of life,” Noble said. “He was ready to be grown and on his own, and he was ready to experience his senior year.”

DeQuavion, also known as Dee, died on July 7 due to LQTS, a rare genetic mutation that disrupts the electricity in the heart after spending a typical summer night with friends.

There was no question that Dee loved his friends, and Noble said the many playful games that took place in the Lewis household would always be fond memories for his friends and family.

“He loved making tons of friends,” Noble said. “He was always saying, ‘I wanna talk to my friends.’”

Senior Taylor Brewer was friends with Dee, and people often confused them as siblings.

“We were really, really close,” Brewer said. “He could possibly be my brother [so we were] close. People thought we were brother and sister.”

Dee’s absence is something Brewer is finding difficult to adjust to.

“You could talk to him about anything, and he would give you his honest opinion,” Brewer said. “He was a very easy person to talk to. If [you] needed someone to talk to, he would be the person.”

One of the fondest memories of Dee was this summer when his mother surprised him with a car.

“Dee had been saving all summer for a car,” Noble said. “I got the car and texted him a picture of the keys, and he blew my phone up.”

Although Dee could not pinpoint exactly what he wanted to do in the future, Noble offered support regardless of what his final decision would be.

“He was in between. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted,” Noble said. “I was trying to encourage him to be a nurse, and he was like ‘no there ain’t no male nurses.’”

Noble always wanted her son to follow his heart and to be what he wanted to be, even when he talked about joining the Army.

“I told him the same thing,” Noble said. “Don’t do it cause you feel like you can’t do better in life, do it because it’s something you want to do.”

If Noble had the chance to spend another day with her son, she would provide his favorite meal for him, chicken-dressing and deviled eggs. She would also let him know how much she loved him.

“You wonder do your kids know how much you love them and how proud you are of them, which I told him all the time,” Noble said. “I would just make sure he knew. I think he knew I always had his back.”

The one thing his friends have learned from losing him is how valuable time is.

“You’ve got to live life for today and never tomorrow because he died out of nowhere, literally,” Brewer said. “It was something that was so unexpected. For him to be a healthy person, you don’t understand [how it could happen]. People should really, really appreciate life. Don’t hold back. Don’t hesitate. Anything could happen at any time.”