Toby Keith will receive another posthumous honor next month, and there’s little doubt that this one would have meant the world to him.
During a graduation ceremony at University of Oklahoma, Keith will be awarded an honorary degree. He’s one of four people to earn the honor from OU this spring.
- Toby Keith died at age 62 on Feb. 5.
- One of his final public appearances was celebrating the University of Oklahoma’s women’s softball team’s National Championship.
- Last weekend, OU athletics painted “Toby” on the football field during the annual spring football game.
Related: Toby Keith’s 20 Best Songs
Keith’s honorary degree will be presented on May 11. It’s not clear which members of his family, if any, will be on hand to accept. Earlier this month, Keith’s children were on hand for an emotional tribute at the CMT Music Awards
Last month, only Keith’s son Stelen was there as his father was announced as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Class of 2024.
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On Instagram, Keith’s team amplified the news and spoke to his love and support (emotional and financial of OU and OU athletics).
Fans were mostly happy, but many noted that it was a shame the honor came after he died.
Many said the same thing about his Country Music Hall of Fame induction, which Keith himself joked he’d only get when he died. During the revealing ceremony, the Hall shared that they learned he’d been voted in one day after his death. The voting was already complete prior to Feb. 5, but he never heard the news.
The Oklahoman shares that Love’s Travel Stop founder Tom Love, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient David Proctor and educator Barbara Ann Posey Jones will also get honorary degrees on May 10-11.
13 Toby Keith Facts You Probably Never Knew
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
Toby Keith’s Sweetest Photos With His Wife, Tricia Lucus
In 1984, Toby Keith married his love Tricia Lucus after three years of dating, and the couple remained together for the rest of his life. Over the years, they raised three children together. Keith adopted Tricia’s daughter Shelley, who was born from a previous relationship, and they welcomed a daughter named Krystal and a son named Stelen. Take a look back at the couple’s sweetest moments together through the years.
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak