A Legacy of Leadership: Richard “Dick” Thurin named 2026 Perkins County Grand Marshal
When Richard “Dick” Thurin learned he had been selected as the 2026 Perkins County Fair Parade Grand Marshal, his reaction was immediate.
“My mouth came wide open,” he said. “I never expected anything like this.”
For those who have known Thurin as a teacher, coach, mentor, church member and community leader during nearly six decades in Perkins County, however, the recognition comes as little surprise.
Thurin has dedicated much of his life to educating students, coaching young athletes and helping shape generations of leaders. This summer, the community will have an opportunity to thank him as he leads the annual Perkins County Fair Parade.
The honor follows multiple community nominations recognizing Thurin’s contributions inside and outside the classroom.
“Richard has devoted his life to serving the community in countless ways,” one nomination read. “His integrity, leadership and decades of service have had a lasting impact on our community.”
Although his list of accomplishments is long, Thurin is more comfortable talking about the students, athletes, colleagues and family members who shared the journey with him.
“I guess I’m not selfish, but coaching is my life,” he said. “I think that’s made me do what I did — my love for coaching.”
A career begins
Originally from Ong, Nebraska, Thurin graduated as valedictorian of his high school class before earning an associate degree in education from Fairbury Junior College and a bachelor’s degree in social science from what is now the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
He later completed graduate studies at Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado, Chadron State College, Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska.
Thurin said teaching and coaching were already familiar career paths in his family.
“I followed my brothers,” he said. “My brothers were both teachers and coaches. I went to the same colleges they went to.”
He began his teaching career at Roseland High School in 1965, teaching history, government and social studies. Roseland later became part of the Silver Lake school district.
At the small school, specialization was not much of an option.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Thurin said. “I coached all the sports there were. I was the only coach. I had an assistant coach, but I was the coach.”
His responsibilities included football, boys basketball, boys track and volleyball.
Two years later, Thurin accepted a position in Grant. He knew a little about the school and its athletic programs, but he also admits western Nebraska’s climate had some appeal.
“I wanted to get away from eastern Nebraska,” he said. “I grew up there, and I didn’t like the humidity. That kind of drove me out here.”
He arrived in Grant in 1967 and began what would become a 32-year career at Grant High School.
“I like helping kids,” he said of his decision to enter education.
Building opportunities for girls
From 1967 until his retirement from teaching in 1999, Thurin taught American history, world history, geography, government, law education and physical education.
Beyond the classroom, he served in numerous coaching and extracurricular roles, including assistant football coach, assistant boys basketball coach, head volleyball coach and mock trial coach.
He also helped open new doors for female athletes by establishing the girls track and girls basketball programs.
When Thurin arrived in Grant, girls athletic opportunities were still limited. Volleyball had begun under coach Larry Pritchett, but the program was in its earliest stages and did not yet have the type of full schedule it would later develop.
Thurin helped the program grow while also organizing girls track and, in 1975, launching the school’s girls basketball program.
As head girls basketball coach, Thurin compiled a 304-100 record, won 12 district championships and guided his teams to 12 state tournament appearances. His 1985 team finished as the Class C-2 state runner-up.
His teams became known not only for winning, but also for their discipline, preparation and sportsmanship.
Still, Thurin said the victories are not necessarily what he remembers most.
“It was the relationship between me and the athletes that I liked,” he said. “I had good athletes, but I tried to make them better.”
He said his goal was to draw as much ability as possible from each individual athlete while building something larger than any one player.
“Try to get everything you can out of each particular athlete,” Thurin said. “But it’s the camaraderie. It’s the team.”
At the high school level, he learned to build programs by watching younger athletes develop.
“I always thought if I could have two athletes who were good in sports in a class, then I could keep building the program,” he said.
Thurin remembers strong opponents throughout western Nebraska, including teams from Imperial, Ogallala and Sidney. Sidney, then competing in Class B, often appeared at the beginning of Grant’s schedule and presented an immediate challenge.
“There were so many,” Thurin said when asked about his toughest opponents. “Imperial always had really good teams. Ogallala was always really good. One of the biggest challenges in high school was Sidney. We started off the year with them every year.”
Throughout his career, Thurin received numerous coaching honors, including the Buffalo Bill Coach of the Year award, Nebraska Coaches Association recognition for 25 years of service and Gold and Silver Awards from the Franklin Circle for girls basketball, girls track and volleyball.
He also coached in the Nebraska Coaches Association Girls All-Star Game and the Cambridge All-Star Game.
More than wins and losses
Those who nominated Thurin said his impact went far beyond the scoreboard.
One nominator pointed to his work organizing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Perkins County Schools as one of his most meaningful contributions.
“His biggest legacy, in my opinion, was organizing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group at Perkins County Schools,” the nomination read. “This group has shaped and improved many young people and is ongoing to this day.”
Thurin said FCA gave students a safe place to speak openly and honestly.
“The thing I loved about doing that was kids became honest when they knew nothing went out of that group,” he said. “We always had a time of sharing. I had some kids share things that they never shared with their parents.”
Although FCA primarily involved athletes, Thurin said its purpose was much larger than sports.
“It kind of gave you those kids that you could help,” he said. “That’s what I enjoyed most.”
His Christian faith also became an important part of his life through Grant United Methodist Church.
Thurin joked that his introduction to the church came in part because of his wife, Karen.
“You kind of follow your wife,” he said. “Karen was a Methodist. I really liked the Methodist Church and the way they did things.”
Over the years, Thurin served on numerous church committees, including the Administrative Council and Staff-Parish Relations Committee.
Sharing the journey
Thurin is quick to credit his late wife Karen, and following her passing, Sharon, for supporting every stage of his career.
“I couldn’t have had any more support,” he said.
Karen kept the scorebook for every basketball game he coached, attended track meets, rode team buses and spent countless hours alongside athletes and their families.
“She kept books for me on every basketball game I coached,” Thurin said. “She went to all the track meets and rode the bus. She grew up with the athletes. She loved the athletes.”
Her support also continued when Thurin began recognizing that his classroom career was nearing its end.
“One day she said, ‘Dick, if you can’t come home with a better attitude, don’t come home to eat,’” he recalled. “I thought, she’s trying to tell me something.”
Thurin retired from teaching in 1999.
“Teaching burned me out,” he said. “Coaching didn’t. I loved coaching.”
A college dream fulfilled
Retirement from Perkins County Schools did not end Thurin’s coaching career.
Coaching at the college level had long been one of his goals, and in 2001, he accepted the challenge of rebuilding the women’s basketball program at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte.
“I thought I’d go down there for two or three years because it was always a dream of mine to coach at the college level somewhere, sometime,” he said.
He stayed for 16 years.
During his tenure, Thurin was named Region IX Coach of the Year five times and District F Coach of the Year twice. His teams made two national tournament appearances.
College coaching brought different challenges. Unlike at the high school level, where a coach could watch younger players develop over several years, recruiting meant constantly assembling new teams from different communities and backgrounds.
Texas became one of Thurin’s largest recruiting areas, but he took particular pride in the Nebraska athletes who proved they could compete nationally.
The first time one of his teams qualified for the national tournament, four of the five starters were from Nebraska, including two players from North Platte and two from Hershey. A player from Texas completed the starting lineup.
They reached the tournament after Thurin’s point guard made a last-second shot.
“That, to me, was really satisfying,” he said. “I could take some Nebraska kids, and they were good enough to do that type of thing.”
“Those kinds of things are treasures,” Thurin said. “You’ll never have that again.”
He said the greatest fulfillment of his college years, as in Grant, came from the people with whom he worked.
“I keep telling people, when I look back at my teaching and coaching career, in Grant I didn’t know what I had,” he said. “The people were great.”
When he arrived in North Platte, he again found strong colleagues and supportive administrators.
“If you’re going to remain in an occupation, that’s just important,” he said.
Service beyond athletics
Thurin’s service has extended well beyond education and coaching.
He has served on the Perkins County Health Services Board, the City of Grant Planning Commission and numerous church committees.
He also served three terms as president of the Grant Lions Club and has remained active in community organizations.
Even in retirement, Thurin continues helping families through his work providing cemetery monuments, a role nominators said he carries out with kindness and compassion.
Those who nominated him repeatedly pointed not only to his accomplishments but also to his character.
“Dick has been such a wonderful and influential person in Perkins County,” one nominator wrote. “He is kind and caring to everyone he meets.”
Another wrote that his steady leadership has shaped generations of students, athletes and community members.
Thurin, however, continually redirects the praise toward others.
“I think I’ve been fortunate to live in a community like this and be a part of their education and sports world,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
He said the support he received from fellow teachers, school administrators, athletes, parents and community members made his career possible.
“It still boils down to who you work with,” he said. “The athletes and the students — that’s what made it special.”
An unexpected honor
Thurin said he is still processing what it means to be selected as Grand Marshal.
“It’s not for me,” he said, searching for the right words. “It’s one way, I guess, I can support the program and the fair.”
That response reflects the same humility nominators identified when recommending him for the honor.
For nearly 60 years, Thurin has led from classrooms, gymnasiums, tracks, buses, church meetings, boardrooms and community organizations. He has coached winning teams, built programs from the ground up and mentored young people through some of the most important years of their lives.
Yet when asked what he values most, he does not mention a record, award or championship. He talks about relationships. He talks about Karen. He talks about Sharon.
He talks about the athletes who worked hard, the colleagues who supported him and the community that gave him a place to call home.
As the 2026 Perkins County Fair Parade Grand Marshal, Thurin will lead this year’s parade. Those who know him, however, say he has been leading by example since he arrived in Grant in 1967. “I’ve just been fortunate,” he said.
“This community has been tremendous.”