TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Friends and family of youth basketball coach Melvin Thomas decided to come together at his alma mater, Sunday, to celebrate his life the best way they knew how, by playing basketball.
Melvin Thomas was just 27-years-old when he died in a Toledo shooting on September 8, 2022.
“You can never prepare for the passing of anybody but for someone so young who was a pillar in his community, he was giving back to his community, and these kids you can’t describe it or put it into words,” said Thomas’s cousin Edward Moye.
Thomas was a proud graduate of Toledo Christian as well as a beloved member of the local basketball community.
“We have people from everywhere who are not only bringing their kids to play for him but supporting him and his movement through basketball,” Moye said.
Moye adds that even though the circumstance for Sunday’s gathering was unfortunate, it’s amazing to see the legacy Thomas left behind.
“For Melvin and his father, this was a lifestyle, this was what they did. This was better basketball player on the court makes you a better person off the court,” said Moye. “It did more than just teach basketball it taught life skills.”
The memorial event allowed dozens of middle school and high school girls to take the Toledo Christian court and play basketball in Thomas’s memory.
“It gives them an outlet. It gives the focus. It gives them the ability to work through their pain through what they love to do and what he taught,” Moye said.
Family and friends of Thomas tell 13abc that funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.
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