Posted on 07/24/2010 9:04:55 AM PDT by TitansAFC
Kaye Cowher, the wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, died Friday after battling skin cancer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. She was 54.
Born Kaye Young in Bunn, N.C., she met Bill Cowher at N.C. State in 1976, where he was a football player and she and her twin sister Faye played women's basketball. The couple married in 1981.
Kaye Cowher played a key role in her husband's decision to retire from coaching in 2007 and move full-time to Raleigh, so the family could be together as their daughters completed their high school and college basketball careers.
Meagan, Lauren, and Lindsay Cowher all followed their mothers' footsteps into Division I college basketball. Meagan and Lauren played together at Princeton, while Lindsay currently plays at Wofford.
Kaye Cowher and her sister led N.C. State to the Atlantic Coast Conference's first women's basketball title in 1978. They also appeared in a Wrigley's Doublemint gum commercial.
Kaye Cowher played one season for the New York Stars and two with the New Jersey Gems in the Women's Professional Basketball League until that league folded in 1981.
The family has requested privacy and has released no information on Cowher's death. Services will be held in North Carolina on Monday, according to the report.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
I wonder when Kaye was diagnosed. It was well known that she had pressured Bill to move to NC and this seemed at the time to play a part in his resignation as Steelers coach. This may shed some additional light on that decision to resign. RIP.
My condolences to the coach and his family.
It probably was melanoma. If detected early melanoma can be stopped. If it is more than 1 millimeter deep it will spread throughout the body. There have been 2 cases amongst my siblings. No deaths so far. I go in for check ups every 6 months. There is nothing healthy about a sun tan.
What a shame. These people were ALWAYS a class act in Pittsburgh and Cowher was a STERLING football coach, 5 or 6 AFC Championship games and 2 Super Bowls, all but ONE without a quarterback!!
My step-dad passed away from melanoma in Jan. 2000.
In late 1993 or early 1994 when we went to our next door neighbor’s house to swim in his pool, my step-dad took his shirt off and our neighbor made a remark about the big mole on his back.
It eventually started to grow bigger and change color. But my step-dad was real stubborn when it came to going to the doctor. So he didn’t go to the doctor until June of 1996 and by then it was too late.
It actually looked like he was going to beat it at the beginning of 1999, after several experimental treatments at the University of Ann Arbor, but unfortunately it came back with such aggression in Sept./Oct. 1999 that it just couldn’t be overcome.
Most common skin "cancers" are easily treated and not life-threatening (remember when President Reagan had a basal cell carcinoma removed from his nose?) In addition to malignant melanoma, the other very rare killer is Merkel Cell carcinoma. I remember several years ago when the great Austrian jazz keyboardist Josef Zawinul died, it was reported as due to "skin cancer". It was Merkel Cell carcinoma that killed him.
54 is too young. Prayers for the family.
I too have a family member that has had 3 boughts with Melanoma who had to have a 1/4 inch deep growth removed from their back while in their 50’s. They carry a large scar from that particular removal. Thank God it has been caught in time, each time, before having the opportunity to spread. VERY frightening. They go in every 3 months for a full exam by the dermatologist.
They grew up going to the beach every weekend and tanned into their forties.
Needless to say, because of the genetics in our family, my ‘sunning’ days were over long ago. A little sun every week now, a good sun hat and Vitamin D supplements to make up for any shortage. I pray I’ll dodge that bullet in my future.
Prayers for Kaye, Bill and family.
“They also appeared in a Wrigley’s Doublemint gum commercial.”
That is sweet! I’m sorry to hear of this woman’s death. I like her hubby very much on the football shows.
My goodness, skin cancer is really an overlooked killer of young people. My friend had a cousin who died of this in his 40s.
Such a shame. May she rest in peace.
I think cancer has affected all of us, it’s frustrating to see a loved one whither away by a relenting monster you can’t see. My condolences to their family.
Our dermatologist told my husband that he used to diagnose melanoma every once in awhile. He says he now makes that diagnosis nearly every day. My husband had it 10 years ago and it was caught very early. I know exactly what to look for and just found a mole on his back that looked suspicious. The biopsy came back with abnormal cells but it was ok.
My daughter, who is in her 30’s, has 3 friends with melanoma. She goes for a checkup every six months because of her family history.
Dennis played briefly in the NFL but injuries cut his career short. He has been coaching and teaching biology in high school and passionate about fishing and hunting.
He was loved by students and community.
Kaye seems to be a wonderful woman ... so few of those left today ...
What a shame...best wishes to the Cohwer family.
RIP.
That’s a shame. I’ll keep the Coach and his girls in my prayers.
P.S.Thank God your Hubby's O.K.!
Sad news.
54 is much too young.
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