One of Cayman’s most transformative LGBTQ rights advocates passed away on Christmas Eve.
Noel Cayasso-Smith, better known as ‘Nolly’, passed away on 24 Dec. 2025 at the age of 57, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Cayasso-Smith served as CEO and president of the Cayman AIDS Foundation and was the founder of the Cayman LGBTQ Foundation. He was a leading voice in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ issues. In addition to organising fundraising and awareness campaigns, he took education and AIDS prevention directly into spaces others avoided, including prisons, where he ensured inmates had access to HIV education.
He was also instrumental in the territory’s first Cayman Pride parade in 2021, an historic event that included among its 600 participants Cayman’s premier, governor and other parliamentarians.
Through his company, Nolly Brown Entertainment Cayman, Cayasso-Smith championed local talent and celebrated Caymanian creativity.
Cayasso-Smith is survived by his parents, Merilda Miller and Patrick Evans; his three sisters, Chastine Rankine, Cathy (Ebony) Smith, and Wendee Miller; his two brothers, Todd Miller and Carson Scott; and many other beloved relatives and friends
Related Videos
