William Pierce Coulter, 87, died Sunday, September 16, 2018 at Golden Isles Hospice in Brunswick, Ga. A native Georgian, William (Bill) also lived and worked in Tallahassee, Fla. for more than 50 years.
Bill grew up in Pine Mountain, Ga., where he was a lifelong Boy Scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. His family moved to Columbus his senior year in high school, where he became student body president at Baker High. At the University of Georgia, he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, graduating in 1952. He served as sports writer for the Atlanta Constitution, and sports editor for the Athens Banner-Herald. He then served in Army intelligence during the Korean War before moving to Augusta, Ga., where he was a sports reporter for the Augusta Chronicle. He spent many years in newspapers and radio in Georgia before moving to Florida. He transitioned into public relations and association management where he would spend the great majority of his career, including serving as executive director of the Florida Wholesalers, Distilled Spirits Wholesalers, and, for more than 25 years, as executive director of the Florida Airport Managers Association, now Florida Airports Council. He served Florida’s aviation industry with great pride and made lifelong friends in the industry.
After retirement, he spent time in Athens, and then moved to Magnolia Manor on St. Simons Island for the last years of his life.
Bill was preceded in death by his daughter, Lynne; his brother, Larry; and, his parents, Wiley and Rubye (Jones) Coulter. He is survived by his daughter, Leigh (David) Beal of Fernandina Beach; his grandchildren, Sarah Elizabeth (John) Pole of Atlanta, David Lee Beal of Auburn, Ala., and, Ryan Coulter of Tallahassee; his sisters, Evelyn Bennett and Martha Coulter of Washington, Ga.; and his nieces, nephews, and cousins in Georgia and Alabama.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 22, 2018 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Fernandina Beach with the Rev. Stephen Mazingo officiating. Interment will follow in St. Peter’s Historic Cemetery.
Memorial gifts may be made to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Foundation/Cemetery Fund.
Sammons Funeral Home