© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Family Of Manute Bol Tries To Make Funeral Plans

In this Jan. 26, 1993 photo, New York Knicks' Patrick Ewing, right, is blocked by Philadelphia 76ers' Manute Bol during an NBA game at New York's Madison Square Garden.AP Photo/Jim Sulley

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-909114.mp3

Kansas City, Missouri – Former NBA center Manute Bol will be buried in his village in Southern Sudan, family members said last night.

Bol, who died Saturday at the University of Virgina Charlottesville Medical Center, told his cousin Simon Deng that when he died, he wanted to be buried next to his father in their village of Turlai. Simon Deng is now helping Bol's family in Olathe make funeral arrangements. He explained that in Sudan, it's customary for people to be buried with their relatives.

"It's a part of our culture, when someone older dies, he always likes to be taken back to his resident home, so that way the children know where his father was.

Bol's body remains in a funeral home in Washington D.C. Deng said the family is trying to figure out how to raise the funds to transport the body first to Kansas City, then back to Sudan. The family is hoping to have a memorial service here, where Manute spent many years, and where he has many friends and admirers.

As Kansas City grows and diversifies, journalists need to listen to the people, to your challenges and successes..As engagement and solutions editor, I’ll make sure we’re framing stories based on what we hear from you, and we’ll partner with communities so our stories help us understand and connect to one another. Email me at lauraz@kcur.org.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.