Kimberly, wife of former NBA coach and analyst Stan Van Gundy, dies suddenly at age 61
- Kimberly Van Gundy’s family says she ‘passed away unexpectedly’
- Stan Van Gundy coached the Heat, Magic, Pistons and Pelicans during his career
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Kimberly Van Gundy, the wife of former NBA coach and analyst Stan Van Gundy, passed away last week at the age of 61, the family announced.
The family said Kimberly “passed away unexpectedly.” A cause of death has not been disclosed.
“I lost my big sister Kimberly Abbott Van Gundy on Wednesday,” Kimberly’s sister Catherine said in a statement last week. She was one of my favorite people and I will miss her forever. Rest in peace, Kim.’
Stan coached the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans throughout his NBA career.
He met Kimberly when he was the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Castleton State College in Vermont in 1984.
Kimberly Van Gundy (second from left), wife of former NBA coach and analyst Stan Van Gundy (far left), died at age 61
Kimberly’s sister, Catherine (left), posted a touching tribute to her big sister last week
Kim received her Bachelor of Arts from Castleton State College before receiving her Master of Education in Counseling from Fordham University.
The couple tied the knot in May 1998 and celebrated their 25th anniversary earlier this year.
Kim is survived by Stan and their four young adult children, son Michael and daughters Shannon, Alison and Kelly.
Kim was known for her love of animals and the Van Gundy family made headlines in 2017 with a heartwarming pet adoption story.
The Van Gundys traveled four hours from Metro Detroit to Harbor Springs to meet Eastwood, the only dog left at a Northern Michigan animal shelter.
The shelter received more than 80 adoption applications after posting on its Facebook page about one-year-old Eastwood, a red Lab born with a deformed back leg.
Kim was known for her love of animals and the Van Gundy family adopted a dog in 2017
After perusing the dozens of applications and receiving several calls recommending the Pistons family as adopters, the shelter chose Eastwood’s new home for the Van Gundy family.
Van Gundy and his wife learned about Eastwood after their daughter Kelly told them she was upset that they couldn’t go to the ‘clear the shelter’ event.
In lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations in Kim’s memory to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando or Crossroad’s Corral.
Van Gundy’s brother Jeff was also an NBA coach and worked as an analyst for TNT on the NBA and as a college basketball player on CBS.