Suffolk News-Herald

For her 20 years on Earth, Naomi Malette brightened every life she touched.

&uot;She was someone who always looked over you,&uot; said Naomi’s friend Amanda Lyons. &uot;She always looked out for everyone. She always said not to let anyone ever get you down, and to follow your dreams. She never had any enemies.&uot;

Last Monday, Naomi called her sister Lakesha from Virginia State University.

&uot;We didn’t talk for very long,&uot; Lakesha said. &uot;I think God was giving me one last chance to speak to her.&uot; The next morning, Naomi was killed in a car accident in Zuni on her way home for Christmas vacation.

&uot;I felt like I was in a dream,&uot; Lakesha said. &uot;I didn’t know what was happening. I never thought that me and my parents would be burying my sister.&uot;

A 2002 graduate of Nansemond River High, Naomi ran track, and was a flag girl in the band. She was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and CHROME clubs, and attained a 4.0 grade point average at Virginia State, where she majored in political science.

&uot;I don’t understand why she is not here anymore,&uot; Lyons said in a letter to Naomi’s family. &uot;But I want you all to know that Naomi lived a wonderful life and now we have a wonderful person to look over us each and every day. I know she is in a safer place, and she can look over us and be our angel. She taught me so many things that I will never forget and she will always be a part of me.

&uot;Everybody can be proud of the life she lived, and she’ll always be there to look over us,&uot; she said, looking at a photo of her friend. &uot;We never expected to have her funeral before her wedding. You have to be careful, because somebody can be there one day and the next day be gone.&uot;

Lyons is working with Bank of America to set up a fund for the Malette family.

&uot;When I think of her,&uot; Lakesha said, &uot;it reminds me of the word, ‘excellence.’ When I set a small goal for myself, she wanted me to set a higher goal. I just have to remember the good time when we laughed and joked and acted crazy, and lean on God for strength.&uot;