‘To see the pride that he had’: Community reacts to passing of Toby Keith

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) – It was June 2022 when Toby Keith announced his diagnosis on social media, but by then, he had been battling the illness for at least half a year.

Keith was well known across the nation, having won at least 23 awards throughout his career. He also had the main role in the movie “Beer for My Horses,” and made at least seven other movie appearances.

Here at home, Keith was known as a proud Oklahoman who supported the military.

He performed for soldiers in Iraq in 2008, continuing the performance when the forward operating base came under fire, a point mentioned by Congressman Tom Cole in his tribute statement to the artist.

In the statement, Cole said:

Brenda Spencer-Ragland, a former employee with MWR on Fort Sill recalls his soft nature and welcoming personality while he was here waiting to begin a July fourth concert on Post in 2010.

”I was struck by how gentle he was and how inquisitive he was. He was very supportive of me too. It was a long day, it had been a torrential rain and we had delayed the concert and I was just exhausted and wet and he took the time to say, ‘Are you okay, Brenda,’” Spencer-Ragland said.

Spencer-Ragland also recalled Keith’s desire to do for others. In 2006, he began the Toby Keith Foundation, purposed to help child cancer patients, eventually leading to the start of the OK Kids Corral, a home for families of children with cancer who are receiving treatments.

”To see the pride that he had, not just in himself, of course, and what he’s been able to do, but to use that talent that he had to serve others, to lift them up,” Spencer-Ragland said.

In a statement by U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin, Mullin stated:

In a separate statement, Oklahoma Speaker Charles McCall said:

Keith was born in Clinton, Oklahoma in 1961. He is survived by his wife and three kids.

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