LuAnne Austin Mandeville

She'd serenade you till hoarse, singing the University of Michigan fight song at the top of her lungs, dressed head to toe in maize and blue: That's the first thing you should know about LuAnne.

LuAnne Marie Austin Coe Mandeville passed away peacefully after a fall at her residence in Plantation, Florida, a song still in her heart, shortly before Mother's Day. She was 89 years old.

LuAnne was born on the family farm in Laingsburg, Michigan in 1936. She was an only child and a precocious little sports fan from the start: She named her first dog "George" after her baseball hero, all-star third baseman George Kell.

LuAnne excelled at just about everything: an all-A student (except for the lone C in 'behavior' she got from a very strict teacher -- her own mother), valedictorian of her class, co-captain of the basketball team, a singular voice in the choir. In college, she was president of the Women's Athletic Association, a proud member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, and a "Splashette" -- kinda like the world famous Rockettes, but underwater. And synchronized.

She dedicated her life to education, spending more than 30 years in the classroom -- first as a kindergarten teacher and later as a therapist, helping special needs kids overcome their physical challenges.

Let's be honest: Her kids at home were also a challenge. She raised three children and then suddenly had a whole houseful, navigating the demands of a big blended family. From the moment she got up, she got it done: homemade jams from her garden, hand-knitted Christmas stockings, meticulous scrapbooks for every child, chauffeur service to swim practice and basketball games and softball tournaments and piano recitals and band performances. And there in the audience she'd be, the loudest cheerleader in the room.

Cooking was not really her thing. Chipped beef on toast? Baked oysters? An orange torte the color of a traffic cone? Her kids would often say: "Pass."

Sports? That definitely -was- her thing. She was an avid fan of every game, everywhere, and was religiously devoted to her alma mater the University of Michigan. "Go Blue!" was more than a motto, it was a lifestyle -- football season tickets, trips to bowl games, dress up days and victory parades in her classrooms, and a rainbow of maize and blue in her closet: shirts, sweaters, socks, shoes and shorts. Too much was simply not enough.

LuAnne is survived by her children Stephanie, Libby, Jeffrey, Monica, Tom and Margaret; a gleeful group of grandchildren and great grandchildren; and her stepchildren Robin, Mark, Leesa and Jeff. She will be buried with her husband Bob at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan. A remembrance will be held later this summer.

She said it best herself, "I feel I've led a charmed life." And if you listen closely, you might still be able to hear her from the heavens, cheerfully chanting that magic phrase, "Go Blue!"

LuAnne Mandeville: True Blue to the very end.