Introduction
🇺🇸 Honoring a Legend: Visiting Toby Keith at Sunset Memorial Park
Toby Keith Covel, the country music legend, passed away too early a few years ago from stomach cancer, leaving a vast legacy behind. We pay our respects at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Norman, Oklahoma, where a beautiful memorial stands in his honor, and where his father is also buried.
Toby Keith, born and raised in Oklahoma, was the quintessential “Oklahoma boy.” Before his music career exploded, he worked in the oil fields and even played semi-professional football for the Oklahoma City Drillers. In 1993, he released his debut album and his first hit, the iconic “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” which launched a career that yielded 20 number one hits.
The Unwavering Voice and Final Days
One of the most admired traits of Toby Keith was his refusal to shy away from speaking his mind through his songwriting. His music was defined by themes of patriotism, American pride, a hardworking lifestyle, and, of course, fun party anthems like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” and “Red Solo Cup.”
In 2022, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. After battling the illness for more than a year, he died on February 5, 2024, at the age of 62, surrounded by his family. His final public appearances were heartbreaking, showing the devastating toll cancer and chemotherapy took on his body. Though he died at home, sources suggest that while the memorial is public, he is actually buried on his private property, Dreamwalkin’ Farms, so his wife, Tricia Anne, and children can easily visit.
A Memorial Worthy of a Legend
The public memorial at Sunset Memorial Park is a fitting tribute to the country icon and massive Oklahoma Sooners fan. It features an Oklahoma Sooners flag and several touching details:
Red Solo Cups: A nod to one of his most famous party anthems.
Heartfelt Inscription: A message detailing his “extraordinary, legendary, and iconic” life, and his love of “God, family, country, and the Sooners.”
The Poem: An inscription quoting the lyrics from his reflective hit “Don’t Let the Old Man In.”
The memorial is a powerful space for fans to remember the man who lived life to the fullest, and who was recently elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
A Tragic Family Legacy
We also paid respects to his father, Hubert K. Covel Jr., who is buried nearby. Hubert, who passed away on March 24, 2001, at the age of 67, had a tragic ending to his life, dying instantly from head and internal injuries after his truck was hit by a tour bus on I-35 south of Norman. The sadness is immense, but the enduring legacy of joy and music left by his son, Toby Keith, lives on.