Bartlett Linley Couch

Bartlett Linley Couch passed away on Wednesday morning, June 9th, 2021 in Raleigh, NC surrounded by his family.
Bart, who went by Buster until he joined the army, was born May 23, 1924 in Salt Lake City, UT. He was the only son of Cecil Rebecca (Bramwell) Couch and Linley Leroy Couch. Bart spent most of his childhood in Pocatello, ID. He was an industrious boy and had a paper route from the time he was 12 years old. He went on to work at the movie theatre as well as performing in plays at school and secretly taking tap dancing lessons. From a young age he could build anything his mother asked him to - including bunk beds and a trunk. He became very ambitious and built a boat in their basement, only to have to dismantle it to get it out!
Bart enlisted in the army on December 11th, 1942. He joined the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and was sent to NYC College to get further training as an engineer. As the war escalated, the Allied forces felt that if they could make one big push that they could win the war. But they needed more troops. The 10's of thousands of troops that were in the ASTP engineering and medical programs were pulled out and sent to Europe in the infantry. It was the summer of 1944. Bart saw action in the Rhineland campaign in 1944 and 1945. This was part of the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded on New Year's Eve, sent to England to recoup for 3 months and then sent on to Paris. He was honorably discharged in the spring of 1946.
Upon his return, he entered the University of Utah majoring in Civil Engineering. While at the U of U, he saw a beautiful girl jumping rope in front of her sorority house. It was love at first sight for Bart, but he often said that he had to grow on Joan "like a wart". They married on June 20th, 1950 and went on to have 4 children - Lynne, Julie, Gaye and Bill.
Bart was hired by Pittsburgh Testing Laboratories to manage their Portland Oregon office. He was then sent to Salt Lake City where he completed his Master's Degree in Civil Engineering while managing PTL's Salt Lake Office. In 1962, he was promoted to Asst. Vice President and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was in Pittsburgh that Bart and Joan made many life-long friends who became as family to them. In 1978, Bart was made regional Vice president and moved to Atlanta where he managed all of PTL's southeastern branches until his retirement in 1987.
Bart served in many church positions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; a highlight of which was the mission that he and Joan served in the England South mission.
Bart will be remembered for his sense of humor and his love of people. He never let an opportunity to make someone laugh pass him by and he considered everyone he met to be his friend. He knew the names of all of the drive-thru workers at McDonald's and Taco Bell and always greeted them with love and laughter.
Bart was the true patriarch of his family. He was always there for them no matter the crisis or emergency. Two years ago, after 68 years of marriage, Bart's eternal companion and the true love of his life, Joan, passed away. He has grieved her loss every day since and couldn't wait to join her again. Bart's last advice to his whole family was to be kind and keep the family close.
He was also preceded in death by his sister, Lorna Amundson. Bart is survived by his younger sister, Gayle Dudley, his children, Lynne Ward, Julie Howington (Cy), Gaye Baker (Rick) and Bill Couch (Gale). He is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 46 great grandchildren.
Viewing will be held Friday, June 25th from 6-8:00 pm at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway, A graveside will be Saturday June 26th at 10:00 am at Herriman City Cemetery.