Miss Carol Ann Thurston, 77, of Niles, Michigan and long-time Brandywine Community Schools Teacher and Coach died at 2:32 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles following an extended illness.

She was born on July 12, 1937, in Niles to George P. and Thelma L. (Wedel) Thurston, and was graduated from Niles High School. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and began her teaching career in the Niles Community Schools in 1958. Brandywine hired her in September of 1959 as a PE/health teacher, and she served for 32 years before retiring in 1991.

Miss Thurston advised Brandywine’s Pep Club and cheerleaders, and in 1971 became Brandywine’s first varsity volleyball coach at the beginning of its volleyball program. She continued to coach volleyball through the 1976-77 season. In 1975, she became the varsity softball coach, leading that year’s team to the first district championship for any Brandywine girl’s team. Her 1989 team was also the district champ, and the 1977 team competed all the way to the state tournament. She remained as the softball coach until her retirement in 1991.

She served on the Michigan High School Athletic Association Softball/Baseball committee from 1987 until 1989, and was an active member of the Michigan Softball Coaches Association, chairing both the all-district and all-regional selection meetings.

Carol was a fan of the Chicago White Sox and University of Michigan football. She enjoyed the wide variety of wildlife in her backyard where she maintained feeding stations, and fed some by hand. She also enjoyed travelling throughout the United States, and had completed a cruise through the Panama Canal. She enjoyed participating in Brandywine School’s Fiftieth Anniversary.

She was preceded in death by her parents; but is survived by cousins Karen “Susie” (Jim) Renfro, Patricia Delancy, and Gerald Wedel; and by a wide circle of friends, colleagues, and former students.

The Memorial Service for Miss Carol Thurston will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the Brandywine High School Softball field and will include the dedication of a tree planted in her memory. Chaplain Scott Labbe of Hospice at Home will officiate. Committal services will be private, earlier at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

Contributions in memory of Carol Thurston may be made to the Carol Thurston Scholarship Fund at Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, 111 Days Avenue, Buchanan, Michigan 49107; or to Hospice at Home, 4017 Chamberlain Avenue, Buchanan, Michigan 49107. Arrangements were made at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles.

www.halbritterfunerals.com