Tim Medlin's wife succumbs after brief illness

Claudia Manuel Medlin, wife of longtime college coach Tim Medlin, has passed away after a brief illness.

A few months ago she began having health issues, and after tests she was diagnosed as having Creuzfeldt-Jacob Disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

I became aware of her illness about a month ago, about the time a GoFundMe account was created to help the family deal with medical and other expenses associated with her care.

Tim texted me this Thursday that it appeared she only had days or hours remaining. 

Tonight, I got a text from him that her memorial service is planned for Friday, March 20, at Fairfax First Baptist Church, 725 Seventh Street West, Fairfax (SC).

Visitation is planned for noon, with the service at 1 p.m. The family is looking into a charity for donations in lieu of flowers.

Medlin said the family is requesting attendees "wear bright colors to celebrate Claudia's life."

In addition to her husband, she is survived by daughters Collins Medlin and Ashton Kirkpatrick and a grandson.

As I've mentioned before, Tim has been a great supporter of PalmettoStateBaseball.com

and played a major role in getting information for the Region 10 Tournament each year.

He retired as USC Sumter's coach after last season. He also served for many years as head coach at Newberry.