William J. Coulter Jr.

William J. Coulter, Jr., 78, a former Shrewsbury High School teacher, died Wednesday, August 6th in Saint Vincent Hospital, after a short illness.

He leaves his wife of 14 years, Maureen C. (Saltus) Coulter; his five children: Stephen W. Coulter and his wife Joan of Scituate, Virginia "Ginia" Coulter of Boca Raton, FL, Keith Person of Holden, Beth Person of Framingham, Susan Bado and her husband Phillippe of Ann Arbor, MI, David Coulter and Patricia Coulter; his seven grandchildren: Stephen, Kevin and Caroline Coulter, Keith and Jessica Bado, and Sarah and Nicholas Person. He was predeceased by his first wife, Rosemarie (Monahan) Coulter in 1971 and by his second wife, Virginia (Haddad) Coulter in 1988.

He was born in Worcester, son of the late William J. Coulter, Sr. and Gladys (Kennedy) Coulter and lived many years in Shrewsbury, before returning to Worcester. He graduated from North High School in 1948, earned a B.A. from Clark University and his Masters from Worcester State College. He also served in the US Naval Reserves for several years.

Mr. Coulter retired in 1984 from the Shrewsbury school system, where he was a math teacher for 30 years. While there, he served as a class advisor, was the Golf coach for many years and taught drivers education. Mr. Coulter then moved to Cape Cod where he operated the former Coulter's Great Island Hardware Store for several years. While on the Cape, he taught at Cape Cod Community College, and later taught at the Eagle Hill School in Hardwick for several years. He was a member of Saint Mary's Parish in Shrewsbury, a member of the Greendale Retired Men's Club, and also played golf weekly with his friends for years.

He traveled extensively and was proud to have met Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw while playing at the many golf courses he visited, including courses in Hawaii and California.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Bill's family on Sunday, August 10th from 4 to 7 PM in the Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, 648 Main St., Shrewsbury. His funeral will be held on Monday, August 11th from the funeral home with a Mass celebrated at 11 AM in Saint Mary's Church, 640 Main St., Shrewsbury. Burial will follow in Saint John's Cemetery, Worcester. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Children's Friend, Inc., 21 Cedar St., Worcester, MA 01609. For directions or to leave an online message of sympathy for the Coulter family, please visit www.

brittonfuneralhomes.com