Family, friends, and South Bend community members mourn beloved yoga instructor and father, Kaylon Woods

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Between Indiana, Georgia and Florida, many people are grieving the loss of South Bend yoga instructor, Kaylon Woods, after he was shot and killed in Elkhart on Monday.

ABC57 talked with LaShon Smith, Woods' uncle. The grieving uncle talked about the devastating loss of his nephew. Kaylon Woods was a 38-year-old father of two and spent much of his time as a yoga instructor in South Bend.

Smith shared that he moved forward with the interview after speaking with his sister, Woods' mother, and his brother-in-law. He says Woods' parents told him they want to do whatever is necessary to make sure other families do not feel the way they do right now. They felt speaking with ABC57 supports that mission.

"He would you know, kind of let his hair back a little bit and then he'd probably have more ribs than he would normally have and say, 'oh man I don't get it like this up there, man!'"

In the midst of grief, LaShon Smith chooses to remember happy moments with Kaylon Woods, like joking about him having maybe one too many ribs on his plate at family gatherings. Smith Remembers Kaylon as an observant child.

"He was always more mature and just more into things that were going on, paying attention to what was going on around him," Smith shared.

He says he knew Kaylon would make his family proud as he got older and Kaylon did just that when he was awarded a scholarship to Ball State University.

"I was really excited when he started playing football because I played football in high school and I knew that football would really, as quiet as he was, that him playing, having teammates will build some camaraderie and maybe you can come out that shell a little bit which he eventually did."

For this close-knit family, being more than 700 miles from each other wasn't stopping them from supporting Kaylon.

"We loaded up the car, and it was pouring down rain. We stopped a little Walmart and got ponchos; I don't care what was going on. It could be a typhoon, we're going to see him play," said Smith, recalling one of the many times he went to watch Kaylon's football games.

On Monday, Smith received the devastating news that his nephew had been shot and killed in Elkhart.

"It's just mind-blowing that a person, a soul as beautiful as his would cross paths with what would ultimately cost him his life."

Kaylon was a yoga instructor in South Bend, but his most important role was being a father to his son and daughter.

"Nothing was more important to him that being a father and being present for his kids, nothing. All kay wanted to do, is do his yoga, work out, be with his kids and be a good father, that was it," Smith explained.

Smith still can't wrap his mind around the most non-violent person he knows becoming a victim of violence. He knows he would be remiss to not speak up and speak out about domestic violence.

"We have to find a way to curb it. If it's the resources, are we making the resources available enough for those that need it? Are the shelters being open enough for the people that need to get in? I mean, is the red tape too much for them to go through? Is the justice system doing what they need to be doing? All those aspects need to get stronger in order to curb some of this violence. It's not just an Indiana problem. It's not just a Georgia problem, it's a societal problem," Smith expressed.

Much like Kaylon would do, Smith says he and his family are now working to still find a light in all of this darkness. Smith tells us he and Kaylon's parents hoped speaking with ABC57 would be part of creating that light in the darkness.

"This story with Kay and what has transpired may help people be more of him in our daily lives, and I think if that happens, his death won’t be in vain."

There will be a celebration of life on Friday, May 1 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Madison Oyster Bar. Kaylon will have his funeral service in Georgia where most of his family is at.

Smith says he; Kaylon's parents and the rest of their family thank everyone who has spoken so highly of Kaylon and wish they could be with the South Bend community at the celebration of life to huge and grieve with everyone who cared for Kaylon