Frank Coulter
Frank Schaffer Coulter was born in Eldon, Mo. He attended elementary school in Kansas City, Mo., and graduated in 1955 from Humboldt (Kan.) High School, where he was active in sports and theater. He lettered in baseball, basketball and track.
Coulter enlisted in the Army in 1956. After basic training at Fort Carson, Colo., he was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Myer, Va. The regiment, known as “The Old Guard,” is responsible for ceremonial duties in the Washington, D.C., area, particularly at Arlington National Cemetery.
Coulter was chosen to serve as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and on May 30, 1958, he served as a member of the guard during the ceremony for the entombment of the World War II and Korean War unknown soldiers. President Eisenhower laid a wreath at the ceremony to honor the unknown soldiers. Coulter remained a member of the Tomb Guard until his honorable discharge in 1958.
Coulter earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial education and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Pittsburg (Kan.) State University. The University of Oklahoma and Wichita State University granted his administrative certification hours.
He taught and coached for eight years at various high schools in western Kansas. In 1969, he moved to the Liberal (Kan.) Area Vo-Tech Center as director of student services. He moved to Norman in 1974 to be assistant superintendant at Moore Norman Technology Center. In 1979, he was named superintendent and served in that capacity until retiring in 2003.
Under Coulter’s leadership, Moore Norman gained a national reputation as a premier technology center with annual enrollment of more than 20,000 students. He oversaw five major expansions of the center’s main campus, more than tripling its size. He also initiated the purchase and development of the South Penn campus in Moore. Coulter was a leader in the maintenance and growth of the Oklahoma CareerTech System, holding many positions in the statewide organization.
Coulter served in leadership roles for numerous civic organizations, including campaign chairman of the United Way of Norman, president of the Norman Rotary Club, district governor of Rotary District 5770, chairman of the Cleveland County Chapter of the American Red Cross and president of the Norman Chamber of Commerce.
Coulter died in January 2013 following a long illness. He and his wife, Sheryl, were married for 49 years, and they have three sons, Mike, John and Kelly, and five grandsons.
Coulter was inducted into the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 2013.
