Georgie Coulter, 90, passed in her sleep on June 22. Georgie led a rich and active life and was known and loved by many in Nevada County as well as Temple City, California.
She was born into the Great Depression, the fifth of seven children. She often described herself as
a miner’s daughter. Her family was poor but education was valued. Georgie finished high school in Hailey, Idaho and went on to earn an English degree at the University of Idaho, then a master’s in
English from the University of Oregon. This was no small feat for a woman at that time
in our history.
Georgie taught high school English in Temple City, CA before the family moved to Grass Valley in 1973. Unable to get a full time teaching job, Georgie began teaching English as a Second Language to Vietnamese refugees who had settled in the area. For years after, she was fondly welcomed at the Bonanza Market, owned by her former refugee students. She returned to college to obtain her special education credential at CSU Sacramento and began working for the Sacramento City Unified School District. She retired in 1988.
She was a voracious reader with a fantastic vocabulary. Ever the teacher, she would always correct her sons if their grammar or syntax were off.
Georgie was civic minded. She served as an elected official on the Union Hill School Board, Nevada
County School Board, Nevada Joint Union School Board, and as an appointed official on the Juvenile
Justice Commission. She was active with the Republican Central Committee. She campaigned
tirelessly for many local candidates, walking miles and knocking on hundreds of doors. She
volunteered for many years at the Gold Country Community Senior Center and was once recognized
by The Union as the volunteer of the year. She was a regular contributor to the Letters to the Editor
of this newspaper. She was also very active at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Grass Valley.
After the death of her husband, Georgie moved from the family home on Brunswick Road to a
smaller home on South Church Street where she was able to walk to mass at St. Patrick’s. She was
regularly seen around the neighborhood walking her Pomeranian, Lexie. After a few years, Georgie
moved to the Brett Harte Inn where she made many friends. Later, she moved to Eskaton where she
made new friends and was a regular at art and exercise classes.
Georgie was fond of sweets and loved nothing better than See’s candies, chocolate milkshake or ice cream sundae from Lazy Dog on Mill Street.
Georgie is preceded in death by her husband, Chris Coulter, and her son, Kelley Coulter. She is also preceded in death by her parents, Mike and Anna Hemovich, as well as her siblings, Agnes, Rosie, Irene, Marie, Mike and Marlene. She is survived by her sons Christian, Matthew and Cameron, and two grandchildren Corina, and Christian.
The family wishes to express their gratitude to the incredible staff at Hospice of the Foothills, as well as the loving and committed staff at Eskaton who always went above and beyond to make Georgie’s life great. And if it weren’t for caregivers Joann and Wren, I don’t know what we would have done.
A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday July 8 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Grass Valley, followed by burial at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.
