Obituary of Richard Andrew Coulter

Richard A. Coulter, who brought a deep love of people and boundless enthusiasms into the lives of his family and friends, his church, and his business, passed away on Sunday, January 13, at Hartford Hospital. He was 84 and the cause was cardiac arrest - which is ironic, since to the people who loved him, his was an enormous heart that never stopped enveloping everyone he touched. Richard was born in the Bronx on May 5, 1934, to Andrew and Elizabeth Coulter, who moved from the city to Harrison, New York, when he was a child. His father worked for the Best & Co. department store chain until 1948, when he opened his own store - County Boys' & Men's Shop, on Spencer Place, in Scarsdale, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University and serving in the US Army, Richard Coulter went to work in the family-oriented store in the late fifties. It was in 1956 that Richard married Linda Hauck, of Buffalo, who was the great love of his life and with whom he had attended Syracuse. Richard opened a second branch of County Boys' and Men's Shop in the Heathcote section of New Rochelle, N.Y., about a dozen years after the opening of the original store, and then about fifteen years later, opened a third store, in Larchmont, N.Y. At County Boys', Richard was an indomitable presence, outfitting young men and their fathers in suits and sports jackets, jeans and khakis, shirts and sweaters - always focusing on high levels of customer service and affordable prices that kept generations of families returning. Richard also employed many of his customers' kids, teaching them about business as well as larger lessons about life. Richard served as president of the Rotary Club of Larchmont and the Scarsdale Rotary Club. He was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship Award, the highest award an individual Rotarian can receive, in the 1970s. He also served as president of the Larchmont Chamber of Commerce, president of the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Lions Club. Raising their family in Larchmont, Richard and Linda also were devoted members of the Larchmont Avenue Church, where they were founding members of an ecumenical group that sought to bring together local people of different religions to find common ground. In 1994, when County Boys' and Men's Shop stopped operating, Richard and Linda weren't done. They moved to Chicago for what they viewed as a great adventure, helping to run the Cloz Co., a camp outfitting business, and they embraced the opportunity to reinvent themselves and their surroundings at that point in their lives. They lived in Chicago for more than a decade, returning east only when the Cloz Co. decided to open a store in Rye, New York. They bought a home in Torrington, Connecticut, and then retired in 2010. Richard is survived by Linda, as well as by four children - Katharine Coulter Steeger (and her husband, Dean), Richard Jr., Deborah, and Sue, as well as by five grandchildren. He also is survived by his brother Kenneth, with whom he worked at County Boys' (and his wife, Joan), of Louisville, Kentucky, and his brother Roland (and his wife, Anne), of Surprise, Arizona. A memorial service will be held at the Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church on March 30, 2019 at 11:00 AM In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Noyo Center for Marine Science. Visit www.noyocenter.org for instructions or mail a check to PO Box 1321 Fort Bragg, CA 95437.