Kaye Cowher, 54, lost her battle with skin cancer on Friday. She was the wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
Born Kaye Young in Bunn, N.C., she met her future husband at N.C. State in 1976, where she and her twin sister Faye played college basketball. The siblings eventually played one season for the New York Stars and two for the New Jersey Gems, until the Women’s Pro Basketball League folded in 1981.
Kaye and Faye Young appeared in a yogurt ad and a Wrigley’s Doublemint gum commercial – see photos below.
Bill and Kaye wed in 1981 and have three daughters. Two daughter, Lauren and Meagan, played basketball at Princeton. Lindsay played for Wofford College in South Carolina.
Bill Cowher retired from coaching in 2007 and the couple moved full-time to Raleigh, N.C. to enjoy watching their daughters compete in high school and college basketball.
Serves will be held in North Carolina on Monday.
More photos below: