July 18, 1945 – March 22,2022 (age 76)
William Brent Coulam, born July 18, 1945 in Brigham City, Utah to Henry Irving and Myra Butler Coulam. Billy died on March 22, 2022 at the age of 76 in Logan, Utah. His siblings are: Dee Irving (Lynn), Cheryl Jean (Dave) Holmes, and Jon Wayne (Kathy) Coulam.
Billy was an adorable baby with curly hair. The family moved to Germany during the allied occupation after World War II and lived there for a few years. He was raised at 420 East Main Street in Hyrum where he worked with the chickens, chinchilla farm, and raspberry patches. He went to South Cache High where he competed in yodeling competitions and loved singing in the musical Brigadoon. Bill and Dee held the informal school records at South Cache for pull-ups. They practiced on the pipes in the chicken coops. After military training as a Medic, Bill served a two year mission in Chile for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He sang with the Delta Phi Chorus, the Northern Utah Choral Society at USU and the Rainbow Singers for many years. While living near Salt Lake City, Utah he was accepted into the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Moving to Cache Valley and starting a business prevented him from joining the choir. He began singing with the Imperial Glee Club in 1974 and was one of their beautiful, high tenor voices for 45 years.
He met and married Christine Johnson in 1968. They had 6 children together: Bill (Jenny) Coulam, Heidi (Micha) Kempener, Kathryn (Curtis) Fielding, Clark (Karen) Coulam, Jeanette Kincheloe, and Allison (John) Anderson, with 19 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. They divorced in 2003. He later traveled to eastern Europe and married Viktoriya Tsymbal from Ukraine in 2007.
He owned a business installing rain gutters and siding on homes and later worked at Thiokol. In 1993, he was the foreman on the startup Harbor Village condos in Bear Lake. He later worked for the Church in the region fixing the partitions in the multi-purpose rooms. His interests included: bow hunting, survival skills, inventing, herbs, alternate energy sources, gardening, yodeling, rebuilding deer and elk antlers, singing, dancing, playing guitar, looking for deer, hiking, camping and exploring new paths uncharted in the wilderness (i.e. Sometimes it took us a long time to make it back to camp as he’d forge a new path through the brush with his machete). If you listen really closely, his mountain chickadee whistle still rings through the pines in the Blacksmith Fork Canyon. He enjoyed learning about new methods of alternative medicine and healing and loved telling anyone that would lend an ear ALL about it. He retained his knowledge of speaking Spanish from his mission to Chile. He was always willing to help those who spoke Spanish to be able to communicate and served in Spanish-speaking branches. You could catch him by the freezer most nights around 10:30 with chocolate cookies in one hand and a banana split in the other. Anyone who worked at Macey’s, Smith’s or Lee’s, knew him as the banana man. “You wanna be so gentle with these babies so you don’t bruise them. You gotta lay ‘em on their bellies, not their backs.”
He relished the time with extended family during Thanksgiving dinners at Bob and Norine’s house with food, cousins and musical talent oozing out of every room. The Butler family reunion was a real highlight where he would whip up his famous Dutch oven potatoes, tune up his guitar and sing the family classics around the campfire. He had a good time as the starting line director while his brother Dee was the MC for the Butler family games. Thanks dad for sharing with us your love of music, nature and family.
Unfortunately, he got COVID on February 11th and spent the next six weeks fighting it along with other health challenges. He passed peacefully surrounded by his children. We’re thankful to all the amazing nurses, CNAs, therapists and doctors at the Logan Regional Hospital ICU for their compassion and care.
He was preceded in death by Irv, Myra, Dave and Dee.
Funeral Services will be held at the Hyrum Stake Center building, 600 S 200 E Hyrum.
The viewing will be held from 9:30-10:30 am with the funeral following at 11:00 am.
Interment will be at the Hyrum Cemetery.
A family and friends luncheon will be served back at the Stake Center and provided by the Logan 17th Ward.
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