Margaret Coupe
Help us celebrate Margaret! Please share your stories and photos, and invite others who remember Margaret.
Margaret McSoley Coupe, of Belleair, Fla., blessed with a sharp intelligence and wit and a passion for life and family, passed away peacefully June 6, 2022, after a Long illness. She was 84 years old.
After graduating from St. Francis Xavier Academy in 1955, Margaret progressed to a successful career in healthcare administration. Having started as a secretary, she later excelled in public relations and lobbying at a time when women business leaders were rare. She earned a Masters of Public Health Degree from University of Michigan and rose to executive positions with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tampa General Hospital, and the Nemours Foundation, among other posts.
In addition to her career in Rhode Island, Washington, DC and Florida, Margaret enjoyed painting and singing and creating beauty around her. She also appreciated good clothes and a good laugh.
In recent years, Margaret helped establish the Suncoast Performing Arts Foundation, and sang in the St. Cecelia Catholic Church choir in Clearwater, Fla., where she was a devout parishioner. Margaret poured her talents into whatever she undertook and most recently was honored by the Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce with an Inspire Award for her contributions.
Margaret's full life embraced husbands H. William Koster, Jr., John E. Svenson, Tom Coupe, and partner Max Conner; four children, Karen Koster Burr (John) (Jacksonville, FL/Bath, ME), H. William Koster III (Katri) (Chappaqua, NY), Michael C. Koster (Robin) (Jacksonville, FL), Margaret Koerner (Joseph) (Cambridge, MA), who all survive her. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren: Michael (Victoria), Nicholas, and Lindsay Koster; Henry, Christopher (Sarah) and John Koster; Emily and Ian Burr; Leo and Lulu Koerner; and 3 great grandchildren, Michael, John David and Charlotte.
Margaret was born Margaret Mary McSoley on October 25, 1937 in Providence, Rhode Island, to her mother Margaret Mary McSoley and father Charles J. McSoley.
She was predeceased by her husband Tom Coupe, her parents, sisters Mary V McSoley (Providence) and Catherine McSoley (Providence) and is survived by siblings Anne E. McSoley (Madeira Beach, FL) and Charles McSoley (No. Kingstown, RI).