Obituary of George E. Coutts

After a long and remarkable life, George Elliott Coutts, known to friends and family as "Bud", passed away July 5 at his home in Paupack at the age of 93. He was born Nov. 2, 1921, in Cambridge, Wisconsin, to George Elliott Coutts and Anna Katherine Gumble Coutts. In the spring of 1923 the family returned to their native Paupack where they resided at Forest Home Farm. George attended Paupack Grade School and graduated from Hawley High School class of 1939. He graduated from Penn State University in 1942 with a B.S. in agronomy and immediately entered active duty with the U.S. Army Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He subsequently transferred to the Army Air Corps and in December of 1944 was assigned to the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron, 9th Airforce based initially in England and then in France. He was a C-47 pilot flying missions in France and Germany delivering gasoline and other supplies to Patton's Fifth Army at the front and transporting wounded soldiers on the return trip. George's wartime experiences included flying Bob Hope's entourage during a USO tour, a chance meeting in Germany with his brother Harold, a B-17 pilot who was making his way to the rear area after being set free from a POW camp, and airlifting medical supplies to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation by U.S. forces. After the war in Europe ended, George was in Paupack on a 30-day furlough anticipating deployment to the Pacific when Japan surrendered. He continued on reserve status for several years, attaining the rank of Captain, but resigned due to an expanding list of job responsibilities and a growing family. George joined with several of his brothers in the founding of Pocono Construction Company in Paupack, and in the spring of 1946 he and Harold purchased an old run-down house in Paupack, which they renovated, renting rooms and cottages to the many tourists flocking to Lake Wallenpaupack after the war. On Nov. 1, 1947, George married the love of his life, Christine Macdonald. During their 63 years of marriage four children were born, more cottages were built, and the house, which came to be known as the Pellett House on the Loch Highlands property, was slowly but beautifully returned to its original mission: a comfortable colonial home, the central part of which had been built in 1807 by Christine's ancestor John Pellett, Jr. In the mid-1950s George served for several years as the assessor for Palmyra Township. He went on to serve as a Pike County commissioner from 1959 to 1976. In his desire to serve his community he held many other positions: president of the Paupack School PTA, member of the advisory board of the Paupack Branch of 1st National Bank of Pike County, a director of 1st National Bank of Hawley, president of the Paupack Cemetery Association, one of the founding members of the Wallenpaupack Historical Society and other smaller but no less-time consuming activities. He was also a member of Paupack United Methodist Church. George was preceded in death by his wife, Christine, and his brothers Robert, Albert, Richard, and Eugene. He is survived by his brothers Harold and his wife Janet, Donal and his wife Shirley, James and his companion Joan, and his sister Beatrice Martin and her husband Richard, as well as sisters-in-law Helen Coutts, Jan Coutts, Grace Coutts, and Jane Clauss and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his four children: Faye Graff and her husband Gary of Dunkirk, Maryland; Nan Brown and her husband Hank of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania; Dulcie Nichols of Paupack, and George Coutts and his wife Susan of Locust Grove, Virginia. Also surviving are grandchildren Jonathan and Benjamin Graff, Kristen and Daniel Brown, Jason and Stephen Nichols, and George "Nick" Coutts, as well as great-grandchildren Aspen, Iain, Joseph, Joshua, Nathaniel, Orion and Zachary. Visitation will be held at the family home, the Pellett House on Loch Highlands, 133 Ansley Rd, Paupack, on Wednesday, July 8, from 4 to 8 PM. Additional visitation will be held from 10:30 to 11 AM on Thursday, July 9, at Paupack United Methodist Church. The Funeral Service will follow at the church at 11 AM. Interment will be held at Pine Grove Cemetery, Paupack where Military Honors will be presented. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Tafton Fire Company, P.O. Box 5, Tafton, PA 18464 or Delaware Highlands Conservancy, P.O. Box 248, Hawley, PA 18428.