A funeral mass was offered March 4 at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, Jersey City for Alexander Benjamin Coulter, 86. He passed away at Hackensack University Medical Center on Feb. 27, surrounded by his family. The eldest child of Katherine and Alexander T. Coulter, he was born in Brewster, N.Y. The family soon moved to Jersey City, where, with the exception of his time in the service, he lived until his death.
Alexander retired from the United States Navy in 1967 after 22 years of meritorious service. He first joined the Navy to volunteer for World War II and later served in peacetime and through two more wars, Korea and Vietnam. It was while serving in the Navy in New Zealand that he received a letter of commendation for rescuing a boat engineer from being crushed between two ships. Deployed for “Operation Deep Freeze” in the Antarctic and New Zealand, Alexander met and married New Zealand native Anne Beverly Coulter. Together they raised three children, Alexander M. Coulter of Jersey City, Martine A. Coulter of Rutherford and Sean P. Coulter of Bloomfield. He is also survived by his children’s spouses, Lisandra Coulter, Sal Mineo and Susan Coulter.
Alexander was also a grandfather to four grandchildren, Samantha, Alexandra, Aedan and Sadie Coulter.
After his retirement from the Navy, Alexander continued to serve his country, working for the U.S. government as a Department of Defense police officer at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne In his later years, he would devote most of his spare time to woodworking and helping his children rebuild and restore their homes. He was a wizard in the workshop, whether it was making shelves for every corner of his own home, toys for his grandchildren or shoe racks for his daughters-in-law. If there was a bare wall, “Smitty,” as he was known to his family and friends, would find a way to utilize that space with his trusty power drill always at his side.
He is predeceased by his sister Janet Holmes (nee Coulter) and his younger brother James Coulter, and is survived by his youngest brother William Coulter of Barnegat and sister Katherine Pawlowski (nee Coulter) of Jersey City and their spouses, Dolores Coulter and Paul Pawlowski. “Uncle Al,” as he was known to scores of nieces and nephews and cousins, was always available whenever they needed him, whether to help tune up a lawn mower or just help out with a hint to finish off that day’s Jersey Journal crossword puzzle. Services arranged by the McLaughlin Funeral Home, 625 Jersey City.