Kimberly Jane Abbott Van Gundy, the wife of former Pistons coach and television analyst Stan Van Gundy, has “passed away unexpectedly,” the family said. No cause of death was announced. She was 61.
Kim Van Gundy died last week, on Aug. 16, in the Orlando area, according to a short obituary at Dignitymemorial.com and Baldwin-Fairchild Oaklawn Chapel.
The obituary mentions Mrs. Van Gundy’s love of animals, charitable works and activism. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Kim’s memory to the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando or Crossroad’s Corral.
Kim met her future husband in 1983 when she worked in the admissions office at Castleton College in Vermont and Van Gundy was the school’s new men’s basketball coach. She was graduated from Castleton and later earned a Master’s in education at Fordham University.
The couple was married May 28, 1998, celebrating their 25th anniversary this past spring.
Stan Van Gundy, who turns 64 on Saturday, was an NBA head coach for 13 seasons, including four seasons with the Pistons from 2014-18. His first three seasons were with the Miami Heat in 2003-05 before resigning. He also coached the Orlando Magic before most recently coaching the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020-21.
Van Gundy’s brother Jeff also was an NBA coach and, like Stan., a television analyst. Stan has done TV for the NBA on TNT as well as college basketball on CBS.
Kim is survived by Stan and their four young adult children, son Michael and daughters Shannon, Alison and Kelly. Survivors also include her mother Jane Dennan (James); father Ernest Abbott (Kate); brothers Kevin (Debe), Keith (Abigail) Abbott and Kristopher (Roseanne) Dennan; sisters Elizabeth (Burton) McKenzie and Catherine (Michael-Ryan) McCarty; and 13 nieces and nephews.