Friends of the late Maybelle Hickman Coughlan, 90, formerly of Dover, may call on the family from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, at the Trader Funeral Home, 12 Lotus St., Dover, where services will be held at 1 p.m.
Mrs. Coughlan died after battling several illnesses Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, at the Masonic Home, Wilmington.
Born May 12, 1919, in Girdletree, Md., she was the daughter of the late Robert Hickman and Minnie Davis Hickman. She was the youngest of six children.
Mrs. Coughlan attended Snow Hill High School in Snow Hill, Md., graduating in 1938. She then graduated as a registered nurse from the Delaware Hospital in Wilmington. She held several nursing jobs in the area until she married Thomas Coughlan in September 1946 at the Mount Lebanon United Methodist Church.
The couple lived in the Wilmington area where Mr. Coughlan worked for Bell Telephone and Mrs. Coughlan became a housewife. She had her first child, Debbie in 1948.
Mr. Coughlan was later transferred to Dover; in 1959, she had her second child, Diane.
Throughout these later years, Mrs. Coughlan was active with the Presbyterian Church of Dover, Job’s Daughters and the Masonic Lodge with her husband.
She enjoyed sewing, needlework, painting on canvas, cooking, spending time at the beach and Pots Nets, where she liked to fish and crab.
Mrs. Coughlan loved a good joke and would both read them and collect them.
Due to health issues, in 1999 she moved in to State Street Assisted Living (formerly Elderwood), in Dover. She made one more move in 2008 to the Highfield Masonic Home of Delaware, where she was well taken care of.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Coughlan was preceded in death by her husband, past Grand Master of Delaware and past Master of Union Lodge No. 7, Dover, Thomas H. Coughlan, in 1989; her sisters, Anna Hoch, Carolyn Hickman and Alma Hickman; and a brother, Robert Hickman.
Mrs. Coughlan is survived by her daughters, Debbie Hurney and family, Dick, Sean and Kim of Laytonsville, Md., and Diane Wyttenbach and family, Brian, Brian Jr., and Andrew of Middletown.
She also is survived by her brother, Albert Hickman Sr. of Centerville; a sister-in-law, Anne Keely of Dover, a brother- and sister-in-law, Jack and Doris Coughlan of Dover; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Interment will be in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Camden.
Memorial donations in Mrs. Coughlan’s name may be made to the Highfield Masonic Home of Delaware, 4800 Lancaster Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807, to help the caring people of that facility, who helped give her and her family peace.
Memorial donations also may be sent to the Compassionate Care Hospice, 702 B Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington DE 19805; their help and support in Mrs. Coughlan’s last days gave her family great comfort.
Letters of condolence may be sent via traderfh@aol.com or www.delmarvaobits.com.
