Thiel College hosting funeral service for alumnus, long-time coach and Hall of Fame founder

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- A funeral service for retired Air Force Colonel Charles H. “Bud” Manes ’58 will be held at David Johnson Memorial Chapel on campus at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 1.

He died April 22, 2025. He was 93 years old.

• Read more about Manes.

Manes lettered in football and basketball at Thiel College and earned a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University. He taught health and physical education at Thiel from 1959-1997, coached basketball, track & field, and cross country, and served as Director of Athletics. Manes was named Small College Basketball Coach of the Year for the 1967-68 season. He helped form the Thiel Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted in 2008. Thiel named its track in his honor in 2019. 

Manes served in the military from 1948-83, including active duty as a platoon leader with the 65th Regimental Tank Company during the Korean War. After his active service, he joined the Army Reserve in 1954 and later transferred to the Air Force Reserve in 1963, stationed at Youngstown Air Force Base, where he rose to the rank of colonel before retiring in 1983. In retirement, he served as Department of Pennsylvania Chaplain and National Chaplain for the Italian American War Veterans (ITAM). In 2005, he participated in wreath-laying ceremonies at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

He is survived by his wife Ann Stanonis-Manes, of Greenville; his sister, Carol Excel of Wellsville, Ohio; sons Don ’78 (Lori) of New Port Richey, Fla.; David ’80 (Shelley (Palmer) ’80) St Petersburg, Fla.; Tim of Orlando Fla.; and daughters Pam (John) Darley ’85 of Orlando Fla.; and Megan (Andy) Manes of Delaware, Ohio; also survived by his former wives Myrtie Manes ’57, and by Marilyn Cotton, plus nieces and nephews, and one grandson.

Related Links

• Thiel College Athletics Hall of Fame
• Thiel College athletics

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