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Blades saddened by loss

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Special to the Breeze, breezesports@breezenewspapers.com

Thomas Thewes, co-owner of the Florida Everblades and Carolina Hurricanes, died Sunday. Thewes had battled Leukemia for two years. He was 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 and Allen Cutting. Headquartered in Detroit, Compuware is a global provider of software productivity products and professional services.

Along with Karmanos and Jim 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 also was a co-owner of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Everblades of the ECHL.

Thewes is survived by his wife, Beverly, six children and 20 grandchildren. Visitation will be at the Desmond & Sons Funeral Home in Royal Oak, Mich., 2-9 p.m. Wednesday. A funeral mass will be said Thursday in Bloomfield Hills.