Longtime Severna Park resident Marie S. Coulter died peacefully at her son's home in Vienna, Virginia on April 18 at age 93.  She had been in hospice care briefly after surgery in Annapolis and rehabilitation in Virginia.

Marie was devoted to her faith, family, friends, and flowers.  Born at home in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, she lost her father early in her childhood and grew up with her sister and mother, a teacher, on a 25-acre farm outside the small town of Cullowhee.  Graduating second in her class from high school at age 15, she attended college briefly before going to work during the Second World War.  She settled in Baltimore, where, as the young assistant manager of a large theater, she met a young naval officer, Frank J. Coulter.  A whirlwind courtship led to her new career as a Navy wife, accompanying her husband on assignments to Hawaii, Annapolis, Norfolk, Washington, DC, Korea, San Diego, and upstate New York, while raising their two children.

Marie and her husband Frank moved to Severna Park in 1970, where both were active in the church and community activities.  She gave up her work as a trainer for Girl Scout troop leaders to focus on church and garden club activities, as well as the Rotary Club's Inner Wheel.  She served her faith and church as a Sunday school teacher, women's group leader (including as president of the Maryland association of Lutheran church women), member of bible study groups, volunteer for the homeless and disadvantaged, and for decades the chief creator of weekly flower arrangements for the altar.  Creation and artistry were at the center of her work in garden clubs.  She got her start gardening as a child on the family farm, and her introduction to flower arranging was through the Naval Academy Garden Club in the early 1950s.  Her decades of experience blossomed in Severna Park, where in addition to winning hundreds of blue ribbons and special awards for her arrangements, she served as president of the Chartwell Garden Club and the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland, director for District II and the Central Atlantic Region of State Garden Clubs, and as a decades-long member of the board of National Garden Clubs, Inc.  Certified and accredited as a master landscape critic/consultant and as a master flower show judge, she shared her knowledge and love of gardening, flowers, and creative arrangements with thousands of others over the years, traveling throughout the state to give demonstrations and hosting hundreds of workshops in her basement workroom, both for teaching and for leading groups creating arrangements for weddings and funerals for friends.  She was an active member of Ikebana International and a keen student of the Sogetsu school of design.  Marie had a special passion for daffodils, cultivating dozens of varieties and serving as an American Daffodil Society judge and chairman of the District II Daffodil Show for 39 years.  The Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland named its most prestigious award in her honor.

Marie and Frank had been married for 62 years when he passed away in 2011.  They were devoted fans of Orioles baseball and especially of football at the Naval Academy, where Frank was a proud member of the class of 1939.  Marie continued as a season ticket holder after Frank's death and already had purchased tickets for the upcoming season.  She is survived by her sister Jean Mincey of Cullowhee, daughter Cynthia Dougherty (Chuck) of Washington, DC, son Frank Jr. (Liz) of Vienna, Virginia, grandchildren Megan Coulter Hoffmann (Bruno), Janey Coulter Keon (Travis), Leslie Dougherty Parker (Matt), and Peter Dougherty, five great grandchildren (Nico, Luca, Riley, Betsy, and Timmy), and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service and inurnment at the Naval Academy will follow the current pandemic.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, 400 Benfield Road, Severna Park, MD 21146.  Online condolences may be made at www.barrancofuneralhome.com