OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The tattered green highway sign with uneven white lettering loomed large on the altar of the Mayfair Church of Christ in a quanit corner of Oklahoma City.

The sign read, "Welcome to Walters, Home of Abe Lemons (with 599 wins)."

Moved from its typical perch on the border of Lemons' Oklahoma hometown (pop 2,657), the sign sat amongst the countless bouquets of burnt orange flowers that lined Lemons' coffin on Thursday afternoon.

A full court heave from Oklahoma City University, where they now play basketball in Abe Lemons Arena, about 1,000 mourners gathered to celebrate the life of one of the greatest personalities in coaching history.

Lemons finished his career with a record of 599-343 while at OCU, Texas Pan American, University of Texas and OCU again. He not only reigns as the most popular coach in Oklahoma history, not only turned Texas basketball from an oxymoron to a phenomenon, but touched infinite lives with his relentless wit and caring demeanor.

Plenty of repeating of Abe's trademark one-liners filled the church -- "He may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard boiled egg," was one of the many retold jokes that interrupted tears with laughter.

But the indelible image from the service did not come from the three poignant eulogies delivered by former players, nor the crammed gathering that required auxiliary seating. The best tribute to Lemons came from the diversity of those in attendance, as inside the staid brick church, a mosaic of people that comprised Lemons' life filled the brown and white pews.

Born during the depression in Walters, Okla., Lemons would often spin vivid tales of a childhood spent sharing a bed with numerous siblings. But through determination, his prairie dust work ethic and holster full of one-liners, Lemons climbed to the top of his profession.

So it's no surprise that some men arrived in Armani suits and others twirling toothpicks in their mouths. Some removed 10-gallon cowboy hats upon entering, while others sported the assistant coach look -- 10 gallons of hair gel. They came in Jaguars and in pick-up trucks, in Navigators and conversion vans. The kaleidoscope of license plates in the parking lot ranged from Kansas to Texas, from South Carolina to Kentucky.

So along with Texas coach Rick Barnes and Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, who feuded with Lemons' Texas teams while coaching at Arkansas, a potpourri of local high school, junior college and NAIA coaches filled the room. Not to mention the about 70 former players of all shapes colors and sizes, as aging 7-footers mixed among slick 30-year old former point guards.

(Lemons reached outside basketball, too, as former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer and former Texas football coach Darrell Royal were in attendance and Nolan Ryan served as an honorary pallbearer.)

"In coaching, you see people as people, and I think that was what Abe was about," Barnes said. "It's a tribute to him. That's the way he would have wanted it to be."

Another theme of the gathering was that Lemons would have wanted a celebration of his life, rather than a mourning of his loss. And no one summed that up better than one of the stars of Texas' 1978 NIT Championship team.

"One thing I always had a problem with was those 599 wins," said Johnny Moore. "Today, I want you to know, I celebrate in my heart Abe Lemons. He got his 600th victory. And that's the game of life. He won."

Pete Thamel is a frequent contributor to ESPN Magazine. He can be reached at vpthamel@yahoo.com.