Valete

From Louis Coutts Family

Lou Coutts passed away surrounded by family on Wednesday 12th April around 7:00pm, aged 89. After enduring a slow growing cancer over several years, he declined rapidly over the last couple of weeks.

Louis Coutts has been a member of The Graduate Union since 1st October 1960. 2023 marks the 62th year of his membership.

Louis Coutts has been regularly contributing musing, stories of interest and poems for the Graduate Union Newsletters. His writing ranges from commentaries on politics, economics and management to stories of his extensive travels and quiet observations from his daily life. He was the guest speaker at the April 2018 Luncheon in which he spoke on Australia and the Rule of Law.

Louis Coutts was a lawyer and Honorary Life Member of the International Commission of Jurists (Vic). He studied management at various American universities, including Stanford, Colombia, Kellogg and the University of California; and founded the Hawthorne Academy in California, which provides practical courses in different areas of business. He has published two books:

• Four Leaders (Brolga, 2012) explored the qualities that make a good leader by examining four heroes of polar exploration: Nansen, Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen. This book examined how different people in different situations managed their role as a leader.

• The 6-Hour MBA (Manjul, 2013) for everyone in the work place. The book demystified management, challenges current assumptions, and introduced the concept of leadership.

Our deepest condolences to the family of Louis Coutts. Rest in peace.

We know that his passing will leave a great sense of emptiness to so many people across Australia and around the world. He lived a rich and fruitful life and constantly tried to make the world a better place. He had a long and successful career in law and business management where he maintained strong relationships with a wide range of appreciative colleagues and clients. He made many friends through his various interestswine, cricket, football, table tennis, writing and literature, cinema, international affairs, travel, music and the cosmos are among the many fields that inspired him. Above all was his sense of justice and humanity.

We are enormously grateful to have been nurtured by his wisdom and sense of humour.

His final wishes were that we should drink Champagne and not be sad. So, thank you for being part of his life and I’m sure you will have many fond memories as we do.

Kind regards from his children, Maryanne, John, Damian, Marg, and Brendan.

Spring

Sad winter gone, sweet spring begun.

How many more sweet springs to come?

So many springs for me are past

The final one must come at last.

And of all those pleasant seasons gone,

Not any ever lasted long.

So short a time for blossoms pure

To achieve souls lasting cure

So short a time for springs to come

Until for me all springs are done.