Thursday, June 30, 2016

Private Funeral Held for Pat Summitt

An orange scarf is placed around the statue of Pat Summitt before a candlelight vigil at the
Pat Summitt Plaza, Wednesday, June 29, 2016, in Knoxville, TN. Summitt, the winningest coach
in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women's game from obscurity
to national prominence during her career at Tennessee, died Tuesday. She was 64.
A private funeral service for former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt was held Thursday.

Erin Freeman, who has been acting as a spokeswoman for the Summitt family this week, confirmed that the funeral took place Thursday in Clarksville, Tennessee. When Summitt died Tuesday at the age of 64, her family had issued a statement saying a private ceremony would be held in Middle Tennessee without disclosing a date or exact location.

Tennessee coach Holly Warlick, who played for Summitt and worked as an assistant on her staff for 27 seasons, tweeted Thursday that "She has been laid to rest. ... Godspeed Pat. ... Godspeed. U r home."

About 30-35 of Summitt's former Tennessee players as well as many of her former assistant coaches attended the private ceremony. The group of former players included Michelle Marciniak and Chamique Holdsclaw, who discussed the service via social media.

Holdsclaw said in an Instagram post that the service was "so beautiful."

"It was so good to see our Lady Vol family," Holdsclaw wrote. "We are going to miss you in the physical, but we should all know we have an angel pulling for us 24/7. I'm going to miss the great hugs you give. Sleep in peace."

Holdsclaw noted that Marciniak gave one of the eulogies. Marciniak tweeted that "eulogizing Pat Summitt today (was) made easier with LVFL (Lady Vol For Life) support. Pat told us, 'Trust me,' and we did."

Summitt won eight national titles and a Division I record 1,098 games in 38 seasons at Tennessee before stepping down in 2012, one year after announcing she had early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

A public ceremony to celebrate Summitt's life is scheduled for July 14 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Tennessee's campus. Thompson-Boling Arena includes the Lady Volunteers' home court, which is named after Summitt.

--- ---  ---

Gov. Haslam, Former Players Attend Private Funeral for Pat Summitt

Well-known Tennesseans and former basketball players attended a private funeral for Pat Summitt Thursday.

The service was held in Clarksville, Tennessee, according to Summitt spokesperson Erin Freeman. Those in attendance included Gov. Bill Haslam, Peyton Manning, and generations of former players.

Summitt’s niece spoke during the funeral, and Dr. Chris Stephens of Knoxville’s Faith Promise Church delivered the eulogy.

Summitt passed away Tuesday at the age of 64. The legendary Lady Vols coach had a long and successful career at the University of Tennessee, which spanned 38 years.

Flags over the Tennessee Capitol and state offices were lowered in Summitt’s honor Tuesday. They were to remain that way until sunset Thursday.

No comments: