Love, smiles, grief on display at memorial service for Mississippi State OL Sam Westmoreland
TUPELO − Family, friends, teammates and coaches gathered at The Orchard Church on Wednesday evening to celebrate and memorialize the life of Mississippi State and Tupelo High offensive lineman Sam Westmoreland, who died Oct. 19. He was 18.
Approximately 300 people gathered for the service, including a majority of Westmoreland's Mississippi State and Tupelo teammates, as well as Bulldogs coach Mike Leach and athletics director John Cohen. Seven speakers memorialized Westmoreland, ranging from reverends from All Saints Episcopal Church in Tupelo to Westmoreland's former coaches at Tupelo to Mississippi State associate AD Jay Perry. Every speaker highlighted Westmoreland's loving nature, his infectious smile, his natural joy and kindness, and his passion for being a good disciple and a good teammate.
Reverend Phillip Parker from All Saints was among the first to speak and shared messages about the intersection between grief and love. Parker emphasized the community that Westmoreland and his parents Josh and Amanda created, telling a story about meeting the family through his son before ever moving to Tupelo and instantly recognizing how loving and protective the Westmorelands would be for his son, even if he was a relative stranger.
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Tupelo offensive line coach Trey Ward followed Parker with a reading of the poem "The Dash" by Linda Ellis. Ward then told stories about the aspect of Westmoreland's personality he most appreciated: When Westmoreland trusted someone, he listened and followed without question, out of deference and respect to the relationships he'd built.
Perry delivered the final memorial address, speaking on behalf of the Mississippi State family. He shared stories from practices and workouts about Westmoreland's faith, vibrant personality and the effect his kindness had on his teammates. One story he happily shared was about a team trip to the new Chipotle restaurant in Starkville where the credit card reader wasn't working. Westmoreland, the only player there carrying cash, paid for seven or eight of his teammates' meals without missing a beat.
After sharing his stories, Perry presented the Westmoreland family with three gifts from Mississippi State. One was a certificate of attendance courtesy of Mississippi State president Mark Keenum. The others were Westmoreland's Mississippi State game jersey and helmet for the family to keep and cherish his time playing for the Bulldogs.
The family wanted the atmosphere of the service to be light. Guests were encouraged to wear color instead of black. The Tupelo football team arrived wearing their game jerseys and most Mississippi State players wore maroon. Before the service, as a photo collage of Westmoreland played over the video screens, music alternated between hymnal instrumentals and some of Westmoreland's favorite hip-hop songs.
Tears flowed, but the focus was on celebrating Westmoreland's memory and the ideals he stood for in life.
Contact Nick Suss at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Love, grief on display at memorial service for Sam Westmoreland
