Pat Dye buried beneath tree grown from Toomer’s Corner trimming

Monday evening at 7:00 p.m., with the sun setting on Pat Dye's farm in Notasulga, Alabama, the former Auburn coach and Georgia All-American, was laid to rest under a special tree he had been nurturing for some time.

There was no casket. The longtime Auburn icon wanted a simple burial ceremony, being laid to rest in a white shroud.

"I want to fertilize this tree and for my spirit to hover around this tree," Pat told Jimmy Rane, one of his closest friends. who is the owner of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., Abbeville, Ala.

The tree was especial for Dye. He had gotten a cutting from the famous tree at Toomer's Corner after it had been poisoned by an Alabama fan in 2013. Dye gave the tree special attention for over six years. It has now reached a height of at least 15 feet, Rane said late Tuesday.

A man of the soil from his days on a farm in Blythe, Ga., Dye, in recent years has developed a substantial business, growing Japanese maples commercially.

In addition to his family, four Auburn personalities attended the service: Rane, Heisman trophy winner Bo Jackson, Rodney Garner who played and coached for Dye (also Georgia) and Joe Whitt Sr., a long time coaching associate and Auburn fixture.