OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Bill Tate was revered in life, and even in death, he's cultivating connections.
- Tate, a former college football coach remembered as the first in the South (while at Wake Forest) to recruit athletes of color, was known to mentor long after he left coaching.
- Tyrone Abdul met Tate at Lifetime Fitness in Omaha. When Tate passed in June, his wife, JoAnn, went to the center to inform the staff.
- That day, Abdul shared news of his own. "It still gives me goosebumps when I think about it," he recalled of the conversation.
Continue reading for the broadcast transcript of this story.
It was a storybook 37 years.
"I can't tell you all the things I loved about him. He was just so good to me. It was a wonderful marriage," JoAnn Tate smiled.
Bill Tate is broadly revered for his ability to connect.
"When I think about Bill, I think about a gentle spirit. I think about a kindhearted man. I think about a wise man. I think about a mentor, a father figure," Tyrone Abdul reflected.
And, to many, including Dick Butkus and Brian Piccolo.
Bill Tate coached college football. At Wake Forest, he was the first - in the South - to recruit Black athletes.
As a player, Tate earned Rose Bowl MVP and Hall of Fame honors, and also suited up for the Chicago Bears.
"George Halas offered me a big contract of $7,500 with a $300 bonus," Tate laughed on Paul Tripoli Coaches' Corner in November of 2024.
So sharp at 93 years old, it was one of Tate's final interviews before he passed this past June - when JoAnn Tate went herself to Life Time Fitness to tell the staff.
"This was his place. He really liked it here and he just loved the interaction with everybody," she recalled as she walked the facility.
But - especially Tyrone Abdul.
Bill Tate had sent a note to managers praising Abdul as "caring, informative and engaging."
When JoAnn Tate told Abdul about the funeral, he shared something with her: He had cancer and was preparing for a stem cell transplant.
She remembered thinking, "I'm gonna go to that appointment with you and sit through it with you so that I can take notes."
She'd done it before with other patients at Nebraska Medicine at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. She worked exclusively with people like Abdul.
"It still gives me goosebumps when I think about it," he smiled, admitting he was reluctant to welcome Tate's help.
But, she won him over.
"The way she opened up right there, I was like, 'Oh yea, she knows a lot. Maybe she'd be a good person to have on my side'," he chuckled.
Tate didn't just go to that first appointment, but others - and, dinners out.
"I just wanted to make sure he was taken good care of and not alone," she shared.
Tate was worried about that because much of Abdul's family is in Zimbabwe.
And then, there was a blip for a man who's reliably positive.
"The first thing that came to my mind was, 'Why me?' Thinking to myself: I've lived my life without smoking, without drinking, working out all the time, teaching classes, all this sort of stuff. Why me?."
But then, he thought: Why not me? He would lead by example.
"Uh! He's amazing," Tate exclaimed.
Having helped cancer patients for 17 years, she's impressed with Abdul's strength and resilience. He's working out and will return to work soon.
Both he and JoAnn Tate are affirmed by the thought of Bill Tate still cultivating connections.