Quiet Roots And Lasting Echoes: The Family Story Of Yusef Rasheed

Basic Information

A quiet figure at the root of a famous family

Many family stories feature a quiet root—the person whose life is known mostly by the branches it nourished. In the public narrative surrounding one of the most recognizable sports families of the last half-century, that figure is Yusef Rasheed. His life intersects the Williams-Price story at a pivotal time: the 1970s, when he and Oracene “Brandy” Price welcomed three daughters—Yetunde, Isha, and Lyndrea—before Oracene later married Richard Williams in 1980. While Venus and Serena would become global icons, the earlier chapter of the family begins with Rasheed, a father remembered primarily through the lives and legacies of his children.

The documented details on Rasheed himself are spare. He does not appear in long interviews or public speeches; there are no widely cited business records or celebrity profiles. Instead, his name surfaces as part of family histories, memorial remembrances, and retrospectives that chronicle the lives of his daughters and their close-knit bonds with their mother and later, their stepfather.

Marriage to Oracene “Brandy” Price

By the early 1970s, Oracene and Rasheed were a young couple building a family. In 1972, their first daughter, Yetunde Hawanya Tara Price, was born. Two more daughters—Lyndrea and Isha—followed in the mid-1970s. Reports consistently state that Rasheed died before Oracene’s 1980 marriage to Richard Williams. The frequently repeated year for his death is 1979, commonly described as a sudden, heart-related event; however, a specific, public-facing death record or contemporaneous obituary remains elusive online.

The broad outline, though, is well established: Rasheed’s passing left Oracene a widowed mother of three. In 1980, she married Richard Williams, who became stepfather to Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha and later father to Venus (born in 1980) and Serena (born in 1981). From that point forward, the family’s story accelerated into tennis history, but the earlier chapter—Rasheed’s chapter—remained foundational.

Children and their paths

• Yetunde Hawanya Tara Price (1972–2003): Eldest of the three, Yetunde carved out a life as a registered nurse and entrepreneur, also supporting her younger half-sisters during their rise. A devoted mother of three, she was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton on September 14, 2003. Her death marked a deep rupture in the family’s story and triggered an outpouring of remembrance for her kindness and grit.
• Isha Price: Often identified in profiles as a lawyer and producer, Isha has been both a sibling and a steward of family legacy. She has appeared in public-facing projects that reflect on the family’s history and achievements, bridging private memory with public narrative.
• Lyndrea Price: Frequently associated with fashion and wardrobe work, Lyndrea has appeared at public events and in behind-the-scenes roles. In many accounts, she is part of the familial fabric that supported the tennis sisters’ ascent while maintaining her own professional identity.

Each daughter’s path underscores the connective tissue of the family: a mother’s guidance, a stepfather’s coaching vision, and the foundational presence of a father whose name lingers in the background—Yusef Rasheed.

A family defined by resilience

When Oracene married Richard Williams in 1980, the family home blended three older daughters with two younger ones on the way. The practical realities of a five-daughter household created a crucible of teamwork, sacrifice, and discipline. Yetunde, as the eldest, shouldered responsibilities that older siblings everywhere will recognize—part protector, part mentor, part friend.

The family’s story is, in many ways, a tale of resilience after loss. Rasheed’s absence is an unspoken note, present even when not explicitly named. The extraordinary achievements of Venus and Serena cast a global spotlight on the family, but the roots—Rasheed among them—anchored it long before Center Court.

What the public record does, and does not, show

The public record on Rasheed is clear on three anchors:

1. He and Oracene “Brandy” Price had three daughters in the 1970s.
2. He died before Oracene’s 1980 marriage to Richard Williams.
3. He is remembered in the public narrative primarily through the lives of his children.

It is equally clear about what remains uncertain:

• The exact date and cause of death have not been definitively documented in widely accessible primary records online, despite frequent references to 1979 and a sudden, heart-related cause.
• Rasheed’s professional life is not reliably chronicled in mainstream or archival sources available to the general public.

In an era when digital footprints often define public identity, Rasheed’s story is markedly analog—carried in family memory, passing mentions, and the ripples of the lives he helped begin.

Family snapshot (overview table)

Timeline

The enduring thread

Even without a robust paper trail, the throughline of Rasheed’s presence is unmistakable. Families are tapestries: some threads glitter in the light, others hum quietly in the weave. Rasheed’s thread is one of those quiet strands—essential, steady, and felt in the strength of the fabric. The achievements of a later era do not overshadow that earlier foundation; they rest on it.

The daughters he and Oracene raised in the 1970s became the connective core of a household that would weather ambition, scrutiny, grief, and triumph. In that sense, Rasheed’s legacy is not a list of titles or headlines; it is a lineage of resilience, a prelude that made an improbable symphony possible.

FAQ

Who was Yusef Rasheed?

He was the first husband of Oracene “Brandy” Price and the father of her three elder daughters: Yetunde, Isha, and Lyndrea.

When did he die?

His death is widely reported as occurring around 1979, though an exact, publicly accessible date has not been independently confirmed online.

How is he connected to Venus and Serena Williams?

He is the biological father of their older half-sisters; Richard Williams, whom Oracene married in 1980, is Venus and Serena’s father.

What is known about his career?

There is no reliably documented public record of a specific occupation or career for Rasheed.

Did he and Oracene have three children together?

Yes—Yetunde (1972–2003), Isha, and Lyndrea.

What happened to his eldest daughter, Yetunde?

She was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton on September 14, 2003.

Is his name spelled differently in some places?

Yes; variants such as “Yusuf Rasheed” or versions with middle initials appear in some accounts.

Why is there so little public information about him?

Rasheed did not maintain a public profile, and much of his story survives through family context rather than standalone records.