George N Couch

MOUNT HOREB - George Couch, 77, of rural Mount Horeb, passed away on March 12, 2020, at his home surrounded by the love of his family. He was born in Lakewood, N.J. to Norman and Sarah (Collins) Couch on Feb. 18, 1943. George spent his youth in Lyndhurst, then Piscataway, N.J., where he graduated high school in 1960 as class valedictorian. During his teen years, he spent summers working on his maternal grandfather’s charter fishing boat off of Long Beach Island going deep-sea fishing nearly every day - an experience he remembered with great pleasure his entire life. He attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania, majoring in English and American Literature while seeking a broad liberal arts education. While in college, he met and immediately fell in love with Katharine Harris of Pricetown, Pa. In 1964, he interrupted his education and entered the U.S. Army. Trained as a military journalist, he served at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., South Korea and Georgia. That same year, he and Katharine began a marriage that would last until her death from heart disease in 2015. After discharge from the U.S. Army, George returned to Pennsylvania with Katharine and their daughter, Elizabeth, to continue his education at Haverford College. In 1968, Katharine gave birth to their second daughter, Melissa, whose developmental disabilities would become apparent the following year. After graduation from Haverford in 1968, George was offered a job in the college’s PR department and for the next six years he perfected skills that would serve him well in his career as a writer. In 1974, he accepted a job as a writer and editor at the GD Searle Pharmaceutical Company in Skokie, Ill. The family relocated to Mundelein in northern Illinois where they lived until 1986. In the mid 80s, George started his own consulting practice and took up a lifelong dream of becoming a pilot and began flying lessons. George wrote for Searle, American Hospital Supply, Baxter Healthcare, United Airlines and served as managing editor of Health Management Quarterly, transforming it into a respected journal on health care policy. In 1986, George, Katharine and Melissa moved to a 56-acre farm just outside of Mount Horeb, Wis., drawn to the area by programs that would greatly benefit daughter Melissa. In 2004, George found the need for insurance pushed him back into employment and he found himself at Forest Products Laboratory in Madison and then at Forest Products Society to edit their monthly journal. George enjoyed photography, literature and the arts throughout his life. He was active in numerous organizations, volunteering for ARC-Dane County, the ARC-Wisconsin, Dane County Family Support and Resource Center, Mount Horeb Rotary, Mount Horeb Community Foundation and Madison Area Rehabilitation Centers (MARC) and a member of UW Flying Club, local book clubs and The MKP. In 2016, George was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his service and advocacy for people with disabilities. George is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth (Robert Hackett) of Woodstock, Ill. and Melissa Couch of Mount Horeb; grandchildren, Katharine, Sarah and Declan Hackett, all of Woodstock, lll.; and sister, Joann Geurds of Ridgefield, Wash. A local Celebration of Life & Love for both George and Katharine is being planned for April 2020. If you would like more information, please send an email with your contact information to: GNK020418@gmail.com. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson Camacho Mount Horeb Funeral & Cremation Care 500 North 8th Street (608) 437-5077