Obituary of Elsa M Coulter

Elsa M. Coulter 1914-2016 On February 11th, 2016, Elsa M. Coulter passed away at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY after a brief illness. She was 101 years old. Born on September 11th 1914, in Hamburg, Germany, Elsa Marie Munch was the daughter of Gustave Munch and Katherine Wolna Munch. In 1921 Elsa, her brother and their mother immigrated to the United States, joining her father and other members of the family who were now living in Brooklyn, NY. Elsa attended Drake Business School and later worked as a legal secretary in New York. In 1944 she married Everett C. Stratton, an accountant at North American Philips who was raised in Clinton, N.Y. The couple resided first in New York City and later, on Long Island and in Westchester County, where Elsa worked for the Lakeland School District as the Secretary for the Board of Education. She and her husband raised two sons, Thomas and Richard. After retirement, Elsa and Everett re-located to Aiken, S.C. and also built a family camp on Charleston Lake in Ontario, Canada. As an avid hiker, canoeist, birder, and all-around nature lover, Elsa would consider this her true "home" for the rest of her life, spending most of her summers in Canada. Everett passed away in 1982. Elsa continued to travel between Aiken and "the Camp." In 1991, Elsa married Carlton A. Coulter, a retired history teacher and School Superintendent for the West Islip, Long Island School District. Mr. Coulter was raised in Cambridge, NY. The couple made their winter home in New Bern, N.C., but continued to summer on Charleston Lake. In 2003 wanting to be closer to their children during the winter months, Carl and Elsa moved to New Paltz, NY where they lived at Mulberry Square Apartments. Carl passed away in 2014 just short of his 100th birthday. Elsa lived a long, energetic, and very happy life, always surrounded by family and friends. She was a strong, independent thinker and along with her love for the natural world, Elsa was also a woman of faith and compassion. She tried to see the good in all, and her enthusiasm for life was an inspiration to everyone who met her. Elsa will be greatly missed. Elsa is survived by her two sons and their wives, Thomas C. Stratton and Dr. Sally Schultz, and Richard E. Stratton, and Leslie LeFevre-Stratton. She is also survived by two nieces, Diana Munch and Kathy Munch Williams, along with Kathy's children and grandchildren. She is survived by Carl's children, Carol Shoreborn, Jennifer Weijer, David Coulter, and Jonathan Coulter, along with their children and grandchildren. Along with her parents and two husbands, Elsa was predeceased by her brother Walter Munch. All are invited to call from 1-2pm on Tuesday, February 16th at Owens-Pavlot & Rogers Funeral Service, Inc., 35 College St., Clinton, NY. Funeral services will be held following calling hours at 2pm on Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Elsa M. Coulter's name to an environmental or nature conservation organization of one's choice. Expressions of condolence may be shared with the family at owenspavlotrogers.com