The Lee University Athletic Department and the Lee women's basketball team are mourning the loss and celebrating the life of former Lady Flame, Kayla Tillie Rooney, age 25, who went home to be with the Lord on Oct. 14, 2021, after her brave fight with leukemia.

Kayla was a standout player for the Lady Flames from 2017-2019 and was a member of the program's first Gulf South Conference Tournament Championship team in 2019. After graduating from Lee, she worked as a special education teacher at Sam Houston Elementary and Assistant Coach at Maryville High School in Maryville, Tenn.

Her infectious smile and beautiful spirit made a lasting impact on everyone she met. She was a team leader and was a difference maker both on, and more importantly, off the court for the Lady Flames.

"It's very hard to put into words what Kayla means to our program, words to describe her impact seem so inadequate right now. She came to us at a time when we were a very good team, but we were missing something, and I couldn't quite figure out what it was. It became clear very quickly that what we were missing was really WHO we were missing, and that person was Kayla Tillie," said Lee women's basketball head coach Marty Rowe. "Everything about Kayla was infectious, her contagious laugh, her energy, those hugs, her grit, fearless determination on the court, passion for life, love for her teammates. Such an impactful presence!! To say her teammates and coaches loved her is such an understatement, but we love her so much because she loved us more!!! Kayla being Kayla is the only way I know how to say it."

Rowe expressed a deep sense of gratitude for having coached and known someone like Kayla, "God's perfect plan placed her here to make us all better coaches, better teammates, better friends, and better people. We're just so grateful that Kayla blessed our Lee family and will continue to be a blessing to us all!"

A true team leader earns the respect and admiration of her teammates and that's exactly what Kayla did almost immediately upon arriving on Lee's campus. Abby Bertram, a standout player for the Lady Flames from 2016-2020, spoke of what Kayla meant to her, "Kayla's soul was one of a kind. Her carefree, loving, and kind spirit was contagious. Anywhere she was, she illuminated that place with joy. We had a really fun team, but when Kayla joined us, it was instantly a party! I am so blessed to have had her as a teammate and more importantly a friend."

Tori Broome was a two-year teammate of Kayla's and talked about the perfect fit she was for the Lady Flames. "You know those people that don't seem to know a stranger? Who when you first meet them, they make you feel like they've known you your whole life? Who make every person in a room feel seen? Give nicknames to everyone and bring a smile to everyone's face? That's Kayla. Someone so authentic, so selfless and loving, so hilarious that you can't help but wanna be around her. She showed us what it's like to live your life to the fullest capacity and not just for yourself but for others. She's someone people could turn to for comfort, a VERY tight hug, or just a listening ear," said Broome. "I think that's something we all hope for— to look back on our life knowing we did all we could to make people smile and feel loved. She sure didn't waste a second of it, doing everything with utmost intensity… loving, fighting, playing ball, teaching and laughing, I'm so thankful to have known her for the time I did."

Broome played against Kayla in high school and during her first two years of college before having the joy of being teammates the last two years on the Lady Flames, "from playing against each other in high school and college to becoming teammates and roommates.. it was an honor to know her. And I think this just shows that while sports are just a game, the game of basketball brought us together. It allowed us to build friendships for life that we can lean on in times like this. And if anyone showed us how to be a friend… a teammate in life.. it was Kayla. I'll miss her laugh, smile, and advice, but I'm so glad she's now fully healed and whole with her maker. She told us the last time we saw her "don't be sad, kitty will always be with you girls" and I know now she was right. Because we will ALL carry a part of her with us forever."

While the sting of the end of this life will leave an unmistakable void, the hope of Heaven assures us that this is not the end. The words of the Casting Crowns song, "Scars in Heaven" paints a beautiful picture of the hope we cling to in the midst of great pain...

The only scars in heaven, they won't belong to me and you.
There'll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new.
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in heaven are on the hands that hold you now.

She is survived by: husband, Blaise Rooney; parents, Tina Tyler & husband, Darrell and Scott Tillie & wife, Linda; in-laws, Chad and DD Rooney; grandparents, Marie Tillie, Jerry &Teresa Neff, Judy Neff; siblings, Kendyl Tillie and Logan Rooney, Dalton Price & wife, Mendy, Kamryn Lee; stepsiblings, Alison Adam & husband Kirk, Aaron Tyler, Jocelyn Kirkland & husband, Nate, Drea & A.J. Hernandez, Celine Trent & husband, Dakota, special uncles and aunts, Tommy & Lorri Lee and Brent & Mariah Clapper; special nephew and niece, Michael Adam & Elly Kirkland, and other extended loved ones and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in honor of Kayla to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, PO Box 22324, New York, NY 10087. A private burial will be held at Berry Highland South Cemetery in Knoxville. Family will receive friends from 1:00 until 4:00 PM, Saturday, October 23, 2021 at Maryville High School Gymnasium. A Celebration of Life will follow at 4:00 PM with Rev. Scott Turner officiating. Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, Maryville, 865-983-1000, www.SmithFuneralandCremation.com.