Walton County

‘She fought with everything she got’: Family, school mourn the loss of Ga. softball coach

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. — Family, friends and the Monroe Area High School are mourning the loss of a former teacher and softball coach.

Vanessa Conwell died Thursday after a prolonged illness, her father said. Conwell was 39.

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Channel 2 spoke with Conwell’s father, Larry, who said she had a love for sports since she was a little girl.

“She may have been 5 or 6, and even then she didn’t like to lose,” said Larry.

During Conwell’s 12-year teaching career, she coached various teams and was the head softball coach at Loganville High School and Monroe Area High School.

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Conwell was a teacher at Monroe Area High School for the past three years.

Larry also told Channel 2 that he loved his daughter’s tenacity and strength.

“She never gave up, and she didn’t want any special treatment even when she was battling her illness. She fought with everything she got,” Larry said.

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The Walton County School District issued a statement, saying that Conwell was a teacher on and off the field.

“On behalf of the Walton County School District, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Conwell family. As a former teacher and coach at both Loganville Middle and Monroe Area High Schools as well as a Monroe Area graduate, Ms. Conwell was a valued and well-respected member of the Red Devil and Hurricane families. She will be greatly missed by her colleagues, students and players both on the field and in the classroom,” said Dr. Nathan Franklin, superintendent of the school district.

The school will honor Conwell’s life with a memorial service on July 13, at 6 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium. During the service, a “Walk The Bases” will be held on the softball field in honor of Conwell.

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