Kenneth Ellison Coulter

Kenneth Ellison Coulter, age 99, of Maryville, Tennessee, passed away surrounded by family on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. He was born on March 1, 1919, in Maryville, Tennessee to Charles Rankin Coulter Sr. and Nancy Millsaps Coulter- the founders in 1896 of Maryvilles Coulter Florists and Greenhouses, the oldest retail business in Blount County. His family has resided in Blount County for over 200 years. Kenneth was active in the business until shortly before his death. Throughout his long life Kenneth was devoted to his family and the business. As a young man he worked at Coulter Florists and Greenhouses and beginning in 1932 he also worked at ALCOAs Tennessee Operations as a foreman. In 1941, he entered the U.S. Army, serving four years in the Pacific with the 33rd Infantry Division. Upon his return home from serving his country, he took over management of the Family Business. Coulter was a member of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Hall of Fame. His business was commended by the Tennessee General Assembly and the Blount County Commission upon being named one of the nations top 250 florists. Kenneth, 1936 graduate of Everett High School was inducted into The Daily Times Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012 as a Blount county community leader. Kenneth was the founding member and first President of East Tennessee Region Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains Maryville-Alcoa Automobile Club of America in 1956. One of the founding members of the National Hillbilly Homecoming he frequently drove dignitaries in his Model A and T Fords in the Blount County Homecoming parades. Kenneth continued his love for Antique Cars completing recently the restoration of a 1915 Ford Model T. In 2017, Kenneth was recognized for his 75th year of membership in the Free and Accepted Masons at New Providence Lodge in Maryville. He was the youngest man to become 32nd -degree Mason in Blount County. Kenneth was involved in many philanthropic projects of the Masons, including support for the Shriners Hospital for Children. Kenneth Coulter was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis Nicely Coulter; son Phillip Franklin Coulter; and siblings Helen Coulter; Charles R. Coulter Jr. and Aubrey Coulter. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Kenny and Ann Coulter; grandchildren and spouses, Kenna and Denny Garner, Brett and Maria Coulter, Kim Coulter Stafford and Karen Coulter; great grandchildren, Cole Garner, Kenneth Bradley Coulter, Brian Coulter, Madison Coulter and great-great-grand child Alexis Garner. The family will receive friends 5:00-7:00 PM Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home with funeral services to follow with Rev. Charles Ballard and Dr. Bill Booth officiating. The interment will be 11:00 AM Wednesday in Grandview Cemetery.