Robert Coston Coupland was born on Father's Day, June 18, 1961 and his birth was announced, along with other newborns, in the Birmingham News. Robert was the son of the late Bobby Emmet Coupland and Sheila Oliver Coupland. They were residents of Homewood at the time of his birth. Robert attended school in the Mountain Brook School system through his sophomore year and graduated from Walton High School in Cobb County, Georgia in 1979. He was an active member of The Boy Scouts of America-- Troop 320 at First Presbyterian Church of Mountain Brook and was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Robert attended Auburn University from 1979 through 1983 and was a member of the Beta Eta chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. In 1992, he graduated from UAB with a BS degree in accounting and in 1994, he received his master's degree in accounting from Auburn. In the ensuing years, Robert worked as a Certified Public Accountant in Atlanta and Birmingham. In 2018, Robert made a move to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was employed by Walker & Armstrong accounting firm. After a brief illness, he died unexpectedly at his home in the Chandler area of Phoenix. Robert will be remembered as a kind, generous friend and a dedicated employee. He was deeply loved by his entire family, and his sudden passing has been difficult to bear. Robert is survived by his mother, by his sister, and two nephews. A memorial service will be held at the First Christian Church on Valleydale Road in Inverness on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 2:00 pm. A family graveside service will follow on Sunday at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.
A tribute from some of his friends: "Today we said goodbye to one of our oldest friends, Bob Coupland. We met Bob in high school, or junior high, or even elementary school for some of us. We hung out together, a group guys who were all interested in the same fiction and movies, and to our great happiness, Dungeons and Dragons. All of us in the group liked to think we were creative in the game, but Bob often took it to a different level. He often surprised the players and the guy running the various games with his ideas and actions, and we spent at least one Saturday each month in his company, for all the many years he lived in Birmingham. Even years later, when he moved to Atlanta, he would sometimes show up unexpectedly at a game after making the drive across the states. Most of us didn’t have girlfriends until college, and that was when I learned something about Bob that had never been an issue before. When girls met my other friends, they would say ‘he’s so smart!’ or ‘he’s so funny!’ They would say that about Bob too… but they would also say things like ‘he has the most beautiful eyes!’ We never thought Bob would steal our ladies away – he was too much of a gentleman – but we still worried. One quirk Bob had was that he didn’t like to have his picture taken. When we heard the news about his passing, we wanted to post a picture of him, but despite all the time we spent in each other’s company, we didn’t have a recent one in all our photo albums and digital files. Even his sister, who has shared many pictures from their childhood, didn’t have a single picture dating later than about 1982. He had managed, in his own way, to always be about 22 years old in our memories. A couple of photos from a 1993 wedding were eventually found, but even then he contrived to be in the background. Half a dozen of the high school group spent the gathering after the memorial service telling stories about Bob. I remember, at the first funeral I ever went to many years ago, being amazed that sometimes there was laughter – it seemed completely inappropriate. When we got to talking about Bob this weekend, the laughter was loud and continuous. David Cowan talked about how they had a deal that when David passed, that Bob would get his convertible, never imagining that Bob would be the first to go. John Hicks and I told about some of the hilarious stuff he pulled in our games. Janet later told us some outrageous stories about his time in the Scouts. Michael Burtyk and Alan Dismukes recalled their time living together at Auburn. The stories went on and on. The family honored us by asking us to be among those to carry Bob to his final rest. Bob was always there for us, and we got to be there for him, and to shed a couple of tears in his memory.
Goodbye, old friend."
A tribute from some of his friends: "Today we said goodbye to one of our oldest friends, Bob Coupland. We met Bob in high school, or junior high, or even elementary school for some of us. We hung out together, a group guys who were all interested in the same fiction and movies, and to our great happiness, Dungeons and Dragons. All of us in the group liked to think we were creative in the game, but Bob often took it to a different level. He often surprised the players and the guy running the various games with his ideas and actions, and we spent at least one Saturday each month in his company, for all the many years he lived in Birmingham. Even years later, when he moved to Atlanta, he would sometimes show up unexpectedly at a game after making the drive across the states. Most of us didn’t have girlfriends until college, and that was when I learned something about Bob that had never been an issue before. When girls met my other friends, they would say ‘he’s so smart!’ or ‘he’s so funny!’ They would say that about Bob too… but they would also say things like ‘he has the most beautiful eyes!’ We never thought Bob would steal our ladies away – he was too much of a gentleman – but we still worried. One quirk Bob had was that he didn’t like to have his picture taken. When we heard the news about his passing, we wanted to post a picture of him, but despite all the time we spent in each other’s company, we didn’t have a recent one in all our photo albums and digital files. Even his sister, who has shared many pictures from their childhood, didn’t have a single picture dating later than about 1982. He had managed, in his own way, to always be about 22 years old in our memories. A couple of photos from a 1993 wedding were eventually found, but even then he contrived to be in the background. Half a dozen of the high school group spent the gathering after the memorial service telling stories about Bob. I remember, at the first funeral I ever went to many years ago, being amazed that sometimes there was laughter – it seemed completely inappropriate. When we got to talking about Bob this weekend, the laughter was loud and continuous. David Cowan talked about how they had a deal that when David passed, that Bob would get his convertible, never imagining that Bob would be the first to go. John Hicks and I told about some of the hilarious stuff he pulled in our games. Janet later told us some outrageous stories about his time in the Scouts. Michael Burtyk and Alan Dismukes recalled their time living together at Auburn. The stories went on and on. The family honored us by asking us to be among those to carry Bob to his final rest. Bob was always there for us, and we got to be there for him, and to shed a couple of tears in his memory.
Goodbye, old friend."
Robert Coston Coupland was born on Father's Day, June 18, 1961 and his birth was announced, along with other newborns, in the Birmingham News. Robert was the son of the late Bobby Emmet Coupland and Sheila Oliver Coupland. They were residents of Homewood at the time of his birth. Robert attended school in the Mountain Brook School system through his sophomore year and graduated from Walton High School in Cobb County, Georgia in 1979. He was an active member of The Boy Scouts of America-- Troop 320 at First Presbyterian Church of Mountain Brook and was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Robert attended Auburn University from 1979 through 1983 and was a member of the Beta Eta chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. In 1992, he graduated from UAB with a BS degree in accounting and in 1994, he received his master's degree in accounting from Auburn. In the ensuing years, Robert worked as a Certified Public Accountant in Atlanta and Birmingham. In 2018, Robert made a move to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was employed by Walker & Armstrong accounting firm. After a brief illness, he died unexpectedly at his home in the Chandler area of Phoenix. Robert will be remembered as a kind, generous friend and a dedicated employee. He was deeply loved by his entire family, and his sudden passing has been difficult to bear. Robert is survived by his mother, by his sister, and two nephews. A memorial service will be held at the First Christian Church on Valleydale Road in Inverness on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 2:00 pm. A family graveside service will follow on Sunday at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.
A tribute from some of his friends: "Today we said goodbye to one of our oldest friends, Bob Coupland. We met Bob in high school, or junior high, or even elementary school for some of us. We hung out together, a group guys who were all interested in the same fiction and movies, and to our great happiness, Dungeons and Dragons. All of us in the group liked to think we were creative in the game, but Bob often took it to a different level. He often surprised the players and the guy running the various games with his ideas and actions, and we spent at least one Saturday each month in his company, for all the many years he lived in Birmingham. Even years later, when he moved to Atlanta, he would sometimes show up unexpectedly at a game after making the drive across the states. Most of us didn’t have girlfriends until college, and that was when I learned something about Bob that had never been an issue before. When girls met my other friends, they would say ‘he’s so smart!’ or ‘he’s so funny!’ They would say that about Bob too… but they would also say things like ‘he has the most beautiful eyes!’ We never thought Bob would steal our ladies away – he was too much of a gentleman – but we still worried. One quirk Bob had was that he didn’t like to have his picture taken. When we heard the news about his passing, we wanted to post a picture of him, but despite all the time we spent in each other’s company, we didn’t have a recent one in all our photo albums and digital files. Even his sister, who has shared many pictures from their childhood, didn’t have a single picture dating later than about 1982. He had managed, in his own way, to always be about 22 years old in our memories. A couple of photos from a 1993 wedding were eventually found, but even then he contrived to be in the background. Half a dozen of the high school group spent the gathering after the memorial service telling stories about Bob. I remember, at the first funeral I ever went to many years ago, being amazed that sometimes there was laughter – it seemed completely inappropriate. When we got to talking about Bob this weekend, the laughter was loud and continuous. David Cowan talked about how they had a deal that when David passed, that Bob would get his convertible, never imagining that Bob would be the first to go. John Hicks and I told about some of the hilarious stuff he pulled in our games. Janet later told us some outrageous stories about his time in the Scouts. Michael Burtyk and Alan Dismukes recalled their time living together at Auburn. The stories went on and on. The family honored us by asking us to be among those to carry Bob to his final rest. Bob was always there for us, and we got to be there for him, and to shed a couple of tears in his memory.
Goodbye, old friend."
A tribute from some of his friends: "Today we said goodbye to one of our oldest friends, Bob Coupland. We met Bob in high school, or junior high, or even elementary school for some of us. We hung out together, a group guys who were all interested in the same fiction and movies, and to our great happiness, Dungeons and Dragons. All of us in the group liked to think we were creative in the game, but Bob often took it to a different level. He often surprised the players and the guy running the various games with his ideas and actions, and we spent at least one Saturday each month in his company, for all the many years he lived in Birmingham. Even years later, when he moved to Atlanta, he would sometimes show up unexpectedly at a game after making the drive across the states. Most of us didn’t have girlfriends until college, and that was when I learned something about Bob that had never been an issue before. When girls met my other friends, they would say ‘he’s so smart!’ or ‘he’s so funny!’ They would say that about Bob too… but they would also say things like ‘he has the most beautiful eyes!’ We never thought Bob would steal our ladies away – he was too much of a gentleman – but we still worried. One quirk Bob had was that he didn’t like to have his picture taken. When we heard the news about his passing, we wanted to post a picture of him, but despite all the time we spent in each other’s company, we didn’t have a recent one in all our photo albums and digital files. Even his sister, who has shared many pictures from their childhood, didn’t have a single picture dating later than about 1982. He had managed, in his own way, to always be about 22 years old in our memories. A couple of photos from a 1993 wedding were eventually found, but even then he contrived to be in the background. Half a dozen of the high school group spent the gathering after the memorial service telling stories about Bob. I remember, at the first funeral I ever went to many years ago, being amazed that sometimes there was laughter – it seemed completely inappropriate. When we got to talking about Bob this weekend, the laughter was loud and continuous. David Cowan talked about how they had a deal that when David passed, that Bob would get his convertible, never imagining that Bob would be the first to go. John Hicks and I told about some of the hilarious stuff he pulled in our games. Janet later told us some outrageous stories about his time in the Scouts. Michael Burtyk and Alan Dismukes recalled their time living together at Auburn. The stories went on and on. The family honored us by asking us to be among those to carry Bob to his final rest. Bob was always there for us, and we got to be there for him, and to shed a couple of tears in his memory.
Goodbye, old friend."
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