Mel was born in New Westminster, BC the second youngest of 7 to James and Jessie Coutts. He lived there until joining the Army at the age of 18. He served 4 1/2 years with the New Westminster Regiment doing active battle in Italy.
After his discharge he came back home and met his wife Lois through the Gospel Chapel. They were married in June 28, 1947.
As a young family they moved to North Delta, BC where they raised their family of 4 children.
Mel served with Canada Post for the majority of his career. Starting as a letter carrier he was one of the first to drive the 3 wheeled “mail mobiles” in Surrey in 1959. He worked his way up through various positions and completed his service as a supervisor.
Mel loved to have fun. He loved to play games with friends and family like: tennis, golf, ping pong, pool, shuffle board, carpet bowling, card games, dice games and board games. It was a big part of his hospitality.
He took early retirement at the age of 59 and, along with Lois, continued to work as a contract rural route letter carrier for the next five years.
In 1975 Mel and Lois moved out to White Rock, then Langley, the lastly resided back in Delta at Deltaview Care Campus.
Mel and Lois were very active in the churches they attended, serving in a variety of capacities. They were charter members of Surrey Alliance, Peace Portal Alliance and they in their senior years supported Mountainview Alliance.
Mel is predeceased by his loving wife of 67 1/2 years, Lois, who passed away December 2014. He is survived by his sister Joyce Shatford of Prince George, BC, his 4 children, Stewart (Dorothea) of Tsawwassen, BC, Clifford (Patricia) of Abbotsford, BC, Darcy (Jill) of Edmonton, AB, Melody (Brian) Kilbank of Edmonton, AB.
Mel leaves a living legacy of 10 grandchildren:
Jonathan, David, Jeffrey, Robin, Darcy
Bradley, Jordan
Ryan, Aaron, Adam
And 17 great grandchildren:
Alesha, Elijah, Brady, Mattias, Rooke, Sawyer, Jesse, Ronja, Aske
Kezia, Linnaea, Elise
Emma, Kennedy, Matthew, Alexis, Nathan, Ashley, Michael
Mel had a deep faith in Jesus Christ for his personal salvation. He drew on this deep faith to carry him through the war and was always so grateful to God he was protected and survived. This faith continued throughout his life. Today he is enjoying a new day in heaven with his Lord.
A service celebrating his life will be held at Tsawwassen Alliance Church, 4951 12 Avenue, Delta BC. Friday, November 1, 2019 at 2:00PM. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Shareword Canada at gideons.ca.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Melville Stewart Coutts October 27th 2019..
Death notice for the town of: Aldergrove, Province: Colombie britanique