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LEBANON − More 1,000 deep, a blur of people dressed in North Carolina blue lined up outside of Lebanon High School's gymnasium just north of noon on March 1.
They were there to pay their respects to Jayden Tremont Bailey, a 17-year-old Blue Devils basketball player who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in June 2022 and died Feb. 19. The Carolina blue theme was Bailey's idea.
By the time his final visitation began at 1 p.m., those same people who'd been in line had marched their way through the hallway to the gym, with the school band playing, and packed the bleachers elbow to elbow, cheek to tear-soaked cheek after walking by his casket.
"It's gonna be a celebration," Lebanon boys basketball coach Jim McDowell said to the crowd. "It's truly an honor and a privilege to be given the opportunity to be part of the celebration of life of such a special young man, a young man that as become one of my heroes − and not just my hero, but a hero to many of us here today."
Jayden Bailey had 'the best smile in Lebanon'
As McDowell spoke, Bailey lay in a coffin under a basketball hoop, a coffin covered with images of Bailey. One of him playing basketball. Another of him dressed up in a sport coat. His name and the school logo also were included.
So, too, was the smile that brightened so many others' days.
Moments before McDowell spoke, an assistant coach passed out gold "Play for Jayden" T-shirts to Bailey's teammates in the locker room they had shared with him so many times before.
Bailey's family, including his mother, London Elie, and other close family members sat front row on the gym floor.
McDowell shared memories of letting Bailey into the gym early to work on his game − before and after Bailey had his left arm amputated in August. While he played with one arm after cancer was found again, this time in his stomach, in October.
He spoke of Bailey's love for basketball, his love for his family and his love for his faith.
"I have a good friend that reached out to me," McDowell said. "He said that when a young person passes away, the image of them becomes fixed in time, in memory. They don't get wrinkles. They don't get gray hair. They remain the version everyone knew.
"We all have lasting images of Jayden, the best smile in Lebanon."
Others took turns sharing memories of Bailey throughout the two-plus-hours celebration.
Including Bailey's close friend, Jett Epperson, who was among a group of Bailey's friends who stood in front of the crowd next to his casket not long after the team ran through one final introduction, with Bailey being introduced last, and one final layup line done in his honor.
"If you knew Jayden, if you knew his story, it isn't about illness," Epperson said. "It's about courage, determination in the way he never gave up. To know Jayden was to know how great of a person he was. He would make sure everyone else was good before he even thought of himself. He was definitely the world's person, the chosen one.
"He may be gone from our sight, but his spirit, his strength and the way he inspired us will stay with us forever."
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at [email protected] and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Jayden Bailey was remembered by Lebanon at celebration of life