Deante Shaheed Strickland was an angel walking the earth who was taken from us far too soon.  His spirit and his smile touched everyone he met, his energy and joy for life blessed anyone he encountered.  

On Friday, August 2, 2019, his life was cut short when he was fatally shot in his home town of Portland, Oregon.  While the family is deeply grieving his loss, they are also praying for the other family victims and the gunman herself.  We are all devastated by the loss of our Tay-Tay. He lived, loved and laughed constantly. His smile would light up and shine through dark times. He was joyous, kind and would give to anyone who was in need.


As Deante reminded us on his graduation day, "Don’t take the time for granted, It goes by fast.” His love for the game of basketball was unmatched....he lived & breathed basketball!! The same glow we all saw at his first summer basketball camp at Irving Park as a kid was the same glow he shared with us all at his last Portland State University Senior Home Game.  He glowed from the inside out, and his light will be missed by us all!!

We are asking for donations to provide the family with assistance to help pay for funeral expenses.  We are also choosing to honor his legacy in a way that can help and inspire the lives of children from his neighborhood who wanted to be like him when they grew up. 

We are starting a non-profit organization to help give access to AAU basketball for underprivileged youth.  A portion of the donations will be used to start the organization that will pay basketball club fees for youth chosen to receive the scholarship.  Teresa Elliott (White) will be in charge of final expenses.   

Portland State Community Remembers Deante