Karolyn Couture-Dobie

Mary Karolyn Couture-Dobie, 90, of Mancelona, Michigan, succumbed to Alzheimer’s in Whitefield, New Hampshire on October 28.

She was born in Clare, Michigan in 1935 to Charles and Marion Amble. Although a good-natured and dutiful child, she once swam by herself across Budd Lake, much to her parents’ chagrin. Karolyn attended Harrison High School before earning her B.A. at Central Michigan University. After graduating, she found a job teaching at West Branch (MI) High School. It was during this time that she met the handsome and charming Richard Couture, whom she married in 1959. The couple settled in Seattle, Washington, where a daughter, Marie, was born in 1960.

The family returned to Michigan, where Richard found a job in Mancelona at the Antrim County Road Commission and Karolyn began teaching in the Mancelona Public School system. In Mancelona, the family expanded with the birth of two sons, Mark and Steven.

An active member of the parish of Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church in Mancelona, Karolyn was generous with her time and her talents. She taught catechism, volunteered with the Red Cross, led Girl Scout troops, and was always an engaged and active member of the community, willing to volunteer whenever asked. Her kindness and generosity were well-known and appreciated in Mancelona.

After Richard’s death in 2000, Karolyn married Walter Dobie. After her dementia diagnosis, Karolyn moved to New Hampshire to be near Marie, where she lived up until the time of her passing.

Karolyn was preceded in death by her husband Richard Couture, her brother Robert Amble, and her second husband, Walter Dobie. She is survived by daughter Marie Snyder of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, son Mark Couture of Cullowhee, North Carolina, and son Steven Couture of Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Littleton, New Hampshire on Monday, November 10 at 2:00 P.M. The mass will be livestreamed on the church website: https://strosechurchnh.org/livestream/. Interment will take place at St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in West Branch, Michigan at a later date. Donations to the Alzheimer’s Association in her memory would be greatly appreciated.