Frances L Coulter

Frances Louise Coulter, age 98, passed away peacefully on November 18th, 2025. Born on November 2, 1927, in Long Beach, California, she was the daughter of Margaret Emelie Rose (Stengel) and Charles Russell Rose.

Frances spent her early years in California before moving with her family to Chicago, where she attended secretary school. She was intelligent, quick-thinking, and never afraid to take on a challenge.

In the 1940s, Frances first visited Rifle, Colorado, where she stayed in the historic Brookview cabin at Coulter Lake. The rugged beauty of the mountains and the independence of ranch life spoke to her heart. She returned the following year to work at the Coulter Lake Guest Ranch, where she would eventually meet the man she would marry, Elwyn Coulter. They were married on December 12, 1948, and Frances became connected to one of Rifle’s early pioneer families—people known for their strength, resourcefulness, and perseverance. She fit right in.

Frances and Elwyn raised their three children on the family farm, where hard work was a way of life. Together they cared for a variety of ranch animals and operated a small dairy and egg business, embodying the self-reliance and determination that defined their generation. Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Elwyn Ray Coulter, who passed on March 13, 2001. After his passing, she continued to run the farm on her own with the same grit and discipline she was known for, maintaining the property and caring for her garden until she moved into town in 2014.

Frances worked a wide variety of jobs throughout her life, including waitressing, working as a secretary at a gravel pit, and for the Production Credit Association. She also worked for local lawyer, Bill Atha Mason, where her no-nonsense attitude and reliability earned her respect. She believed in earning her keep, doing things the right way, and not backing down from hard labor. That toughness defined who she was.

Frances was never one to sit still. She lived the classic Colorado lifestyle, enjoying horses, hunting, fishing, camping, four-wheeling, and snowmobiling. She was fearless, self-reliant, and at home in rugged country. Whether exploring Rifle Mountain Park, riding through the Flat Tops, or trekking into the canyon to escape summer heat, she embraced adventure with the same tenacity she brought to everything else.

Frances was the mother of three children, Scott, Gail and Diana, and leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was strongly independent, mentally sharp well into her later years, and always straightforward in her opinions. She lived life on her own terms, with grit, strength, and a clear sense of who she was.

Frances leaves behind a legacy of toughness, resilience, and a lifetime of stories tied deeply to Rifle’s early history and the mountains she loved. Her memory will live on in the land she cherished and the family that carries her unmistakable strength forward.