Lynne Coulter

Honouring a life well lived

When you hear that someone has had a “life changing accident,” you imagine the worst. However, as NWP donor Lynne Coulter will tell you, sometimes an accident can change the course of one’s life in the most unexpected but wonderful ways.

In 1990, Lynne and his wife Donna were settled in their careers, with Lynne working for the City of Grande Prairie and Donna as a talented hairdresser. Donna’s career was suddenly upended when she broke her leg badly enough to warrant surgery and some permanently placed steel stabilizers. Realizing that she needed to find a new job that involved spending significantly less time on her feet, Donna sought out and chose the one-year Office Administration program at, what was then, Grande Prairie Regional College.

There was just one problem. Having become a hairdresser at 16, Donna hadn’t completed high school and needed to earn her GED before being eligible for the program. As Lynne tells it, “Donna was very good at English and History – in fact, she read War and Peace in two days - but math was enough to make her sick.” Determined to see his wife succeed, Lynne began helping her work though long-dreaded concepts like fractions and percentages. He jokingly likens his teaching her math to a married couple hanging wallpaper together….

in other words, not a good time for anyone. But with his help and a lot of hard work, Donna earned her GED and was on her way to college.

Except there was another hurdle. At nearly 50, Donna had never typed in her life and now had to pass a typing test as part of the program admission. Once again, her determination won out and after much practice on a typewriter that Lynne brought home, Donna passed the proficiency test and was accepted into the program. Lynne recalls that she loved her time on campus, not least because she didn’t have to spend one more minute on math. (He may have helped her understand it, but she was never going to like it!)

Donna had a job lined up the day she graduated from the Office Administration program, with a whole new world of experiences waiting for herself and Lynne. She enjoyed a successful career as an office administrator, but her heart was in her volunteer work. Donna served as a Lions Club member for more than 30 years and was presented with several awards for her contributions. Thanks in part to her business and leadership skills, she became the first female in Western Canada to be appointed a District Governor with the Lions, and later Council Chair.

But it certainly wasn’t all work and no play. Over the years, Lynne and Donna’s travels took them to five of the seven continents. A few of the highlights include the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany, and the Great Wall near Beijing. They saw Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, the Republic of Korea, North Korea, and Japan. They drove the Alaska Highway to Anchorage, took five cruises including one through the Panama Canal, and rode on the Yukon & White Pass railroad.

Donna was also a great fan of baseball. She and Lynne attended games in no less than eleven major league stadiums, some of them several times. The Jays were her favourite team, but she was a closet Yankee fan and was thrilled when she finally got to see them play in Minneapolis.

After a life of travel, and many personal and professional accomplishments, Donna passed away on April 1, 2021. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions prevented Lynne and his family from being able to celebrate Donna’s life in the way they might have liked. It was important to the Coulter family that they honour her many contributions to the community and beyond, and they decided it would be fitting to establish a Memorial Bursary for NWP students in her name.

“Donna made a mark on many people throughout her life, and we know that she would appreciate us supporting a deserving student who may need the help,” says Lynne. The criteria for Donna’s bursary speaks volumes about who she was. The family’s preference is that the money be shared with a student from the Office Professional program, who has demonstrated community involvement or volunteerism, has a good attitude, a desire to learn, and a sense of humour.

We thank Lynne and the Coulter family for this generous donation, and we look forward to continuing Donna’s legacy within the NWP student community. For more information about the Donna Coulter Bursary please visit NWP.me/Bursaries.

Northwestern Polytechnic, like all polytechnics, focuses on hands-on learning and applied research to address real world problems. Most of our instructors have years of industry experience under their belts and bring an in-depth understanding of how things work beyond the classroom.