Friends and family celebrate life, times of Tisdale

TULSA, Okla. -- The procession began three miles away in a horse drawn carriage that carried the body of Wayman Tisdale.

It traveled through downtown Tulsa to the BOK Center, where about 5,000 people gathered to celebrate his life in a memorial service.

And a celebration it was.

Dancing, clapping, loud, vibrant jazz and gospel music, pleas for people to make some noise, storytelling, laughter and tears -- it was all here. And it all embodied Tisdale, who passed away on Friday at the age of 44 after a two-year battle with cancer.

With about 380 family members present, and scores of friends, acquaintances, fans and locals filling the arena's lower bowl, Wayman Tisdale's Band opened the three-hour ceremony with the same soothing jazz music that Tisdale came to master and envelop throughout his life.

As soon as the funeral procession arrived, the music went from mellow to uplifting, bringing everyone out of their seats and their hands together. Keeping in tune to the beat, the procession began with a pallbearer shuffling his feet down the aisle, his white glove hoisting an official NBA basketball high above. Following him were the remaining 10 pallbearers who carried the rustic brown casket to the front of the stage. Later, a pallbearer would place Tisdale's bass guitar alongside his casket.

Tisdale made his name here, where he played at local Booker T. Washington High before starring at the University of Oklahoma and catapulting a 12- year career in the NBA.

"He did more in 44 years than most people could do in 84 or 88 years," said former Oklahoma basketball coach Billy Tubbs.

More than a dozen pastors that Tisdale came to know throughout the years sat near the stage. There were former NBA players John Starks, A.C. Green, Kenny Gattison, Darrell Walker and Rory Sparrow. Also in attendance were former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer and current national player of the year Blake Griffin. As were jazz musicians Marcus Miller and Dave Koz, plus country music star Toby Keith, all of whom paid tribute to Tisdale through song and word.

Keith wrote a song about Tisdale, but was too emotional to perform it.

"Every time I tried to say goodbye to him," Keith said, "he wouldn't let me."

Starks, also a Tulsa native, even took the stage unannounced to say a few words.

Everyone wanted to say something.

"I don't think you can find five people who can say they don't like Wayman Tisdale," Walker remarked.

When Tisdale's brother, Pastor Weldon L. Tisdale, Sr., delivered his powerful eulogy, he asked the audience how many people had a Wayman Tisdale story. More than half of the crowd raised their hands.

"It was yet another example of how Tisdale transcended a variety of spectrums of life," Pastor Tisdale said.

Wayman Tisdale was more than just a basketball player. He was a master musician, a comedian, family man and common man.

"He just had the ability to pull people together," Pastor Tisdale said. "One of the things we're missing today, I believe, was his ability to continually connect."

Tisdale never hesitated to help anyone he came into contact with. He never missed an opportunity.

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor relayed that much during her remarks when she spoke about the time two years ago that she had Tisdale serve as a judge for a talent show of young aspiring musicians.

Or when Miller, a fellow bassist, recalled a time when Tisdale signed an autograph with one hand while eating a chicken wing with the other.

Unlike most professional athletes, Miller said that Tisdale "didn't have a wall. He had a light and he shined it on everyone."

Koz, a saxophonist who often performed with Tisdale on stage, said that Tisdale always gave off a positive vibe.

"At 5-foot-6," Koz said, "I felt like I was in the NBA."

Tisdale was diagnosed with cancer in his right knee in 2007 after breaking his leg in a fall. He had his leg amputated last summer and eventually wore a prosthetic. Confined to a wheelchair in his final months, Tisdale always kept positive, always kept his faith.

"He left a mark of smiling all the time, no matter what the situation was," said former Oklahoma football coach John Blake. "I just love him for that because every time I saw him, that smile took off. He could lift anybody's spirits."

The final scene of the funeral service had Wayman Tisdale's band on stage. Portraits of Tisdale during his playing days, with the band and his family, stood in front of the stage among bouquets of flowers, and his ivory bass guitar and No. 23 Oklahoma jersey also constructed of flowers.

As the Tisdale family processed out the BOK Center, the band played on. The final tune came from a bassist's guitar, which was plucked and strummed to reverberate throughout his hometown arena. It capped an event that was billed as "A Celebration of Life."

"Wayman would never want any of us to leave this place hurt," Pastor Tisdale said. "He lived for everyone to feel the same joy that he had."