Andrew M. Coulter

Andrew McNeil Coulter Jr.
November 25, 1953 - January 26, 2020
He was known to many as Andrew, Andy, André, and even AJ, and was born on November 25th and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother, Doris (née Anderson), and his dad, Andrew McNeil Coulter, Sr., raised their four children in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Andy has two older sisters, Donna Calvert and Sandra Kilbashian, and a younger brother, Robert Coulter. Andrew McNeil Coulter Sr. passed away in April, 1999.

Andy attended the Morse Elementary School and Cambridge Latin High School before going on to Boston State College where he earned a degree in Biology. He enjoyed learning and always prioritized education, no matter the obstacles that made it hard it for him to obtain it.

The Vietnam War was still going on during his freshman year of college. With a draft number of 25, he would certainly have been drafted so he decided to join the Air National Guard. He was sent to San Antonio, Texas where he learned the foundations of his future career as well as some important life skills. He then attended the National Guard's Technical Electronics program in Mississippi.

When he returned to Massachusetts, he was well prepared to continue and complete his college education, and graduated with a major in Biology and minors in Physics and Chemistry. It was 1976 and before the biotechnology age. A friend suggested he interview with an engineering firm that worked with charged particle accelerators. Andy got the job and traveled throughout the world on work assignments. During those early years, he met some dear friends that he still has today.

With layoffs on the horizon for that company, Andy decided to explore another that focused on semiconductors. He loved working with all types of engineers, physicists, and companies as well as in academic settings. He so enjoyed working together with colleagues to find solutions for their projects. In 1991, he founded his own business as a manufacturer's representative and named it CF Associates. He began with selling electron microscopes and grew his company to support an array of high tech equipment.

Andy joined the Skimos Ski Club in 1980 to advance his skiing abilities and to meet new friends who also loved to ski and enjoy the mountains of New Hampshire. In 1987, at a Halloween party at the Skimos, Andy met Mary Flanagan. They dated and were married on November 18th, 1989. They started their family with the birth of Kathleen Kerry Coulter on Andy's 40th birthday. What a wonderful present! Then, 18months later Andrew Charles Coulter was born. Their home as a family was in West Newbury, Massachusetts. The Coulter's decided to join the Prospectors Ski Club, which was a family ski club filled with more wonderful friends and family, all who shared in the joy of nature in New Hampshire.

Andy loved the outdoors and everything it had to offer. He enjoyed biking and rode across the United States to Colorado in 21 days. He loved hiking in the White Mountains and eventually summited all of the 48 peaks in New Hampshire greater than 4,000 feet, completing the final ascent months before his 50th birthday. His passion for skiing and Wildcat Mountain were especially dear to his heart. Skiing the slopes at Wildcat and looking across at Mt. Washington was pure joy for Andy. He bought a lifetime ski pass for Wildcat in the early '80s to help ensure the mountain's continued legacy – and he certainly got his money's worth!

In 2014, his primary care physician (another Wildcat skier) noted a drop in Andy's amount of red blood cells. This prompted a visit to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Andy decided that he would not be defined by this, and so, he slowly adjusted his lifestyle. Biking became a short walk, hiking was replaced with golf, and downhill skiing was only possible when his blood counts and the mountain elevation allowed him the energy to enjoy the sports he loved. In 2017, the Coulters moved from their home in Massachusetts to where Andy always wanted to be, New Hampshire.

On January 7th, 2020, Andy was admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for treatment of his MDS, which had begun to turn into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Andy and his doctors were very hopeful that they could treat this AML and continue with the plan for a stem cell transplant in the hopes of curing his MDS. He did well until January 25th when it became clear that the multitude of complications were too great for his body to overcome. Despite his unwavering spirit and optimism about all that he would face on the long road of treatment and recovery, Andy's body was not up for the fight. His family and friends were called to his bedside to say their goodbyes.

Andrew McNeil Coulter, Jr. passed away on the night of January 26th, 2020 at Brigham and Women's Hospital with his wife, Mary, and two children, Katie and Drew at his side. His mother Doris Coulter, sisters Donna Calvert and Sandra Kilbashian, brother Bobby, uncle Bob Anderson and his wife Diane, cousin Peggy Anderson, sister-in-law Evelyn Baldwin, and friends Ron and Maureen Carrington, Tom and Cathy Cronin, Jack and Jodi Morrocco, Jim and Suzan Morrocco, Rajen and Shaila Desai, and Endy Lau were all present to say goodbye.

Andy also leaves behind his brother-in-laws Bill Calvert, Bob Kilbashian, Chuck Flanagan, and Bill Baldwin and sister-in-law Leslie Flanagan along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors.


"Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart." Mahatma Gandhi