RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced with sadness the passing of Hurricanes co-owner Thomas Thewes. Thewes, who had battled Leukemia for the past two years, died Sunday morning at the age of 76.

A graduate of the University of Detroit, Thewes most recently served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors (Emeritus) of the Compuware Corporation, the company he founded in 1973 along with Peter Karmanos Jr. and Allen Cutting. Headquartered in Detroit, Compuware is a global provider of software productivity products and professional services. Along with Karmanos and Rutherford, Thewes acquired the NHL’s Hartford Whalers on June 28, 1994, and the team moved to North Carolina to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. Thewes was also the co-owner of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Thewes is survived by his wife, Beverly, six children and 20 grandchildren. Visitation will be held at the Desmond & Sons Funeral Home in Royal Oak, MI, on Wednesday from 2 p.m. – 9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday at St. Hugo of the Hills Church in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to Everest Academy, a school Thewes helped to found. Donations can be made by following this link: https://secure.everestacademy.org/donate.php.