Delphine M. (Browarski) Coupland, 80, of Grand Rapids, died Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. She was born April 10, 1942, in Hamtramck. She married Bryan Coupland in December 1965.
Del attended St. Florian Catholic School in Hamtramck until she was twelve years old, whher family moved to a farm in Romeo. She graduated from Romeo High School where she was active in 4-H and the marching band as a drum majorette. She attended Michigan State University and received her bachelor’s degree in 1964. Her first job was teaching third and fourth grades in Lansing, Michigan.
Del met Bryan in April 1965 and they were married in December of that same year. In 1967, she gave birth to their first child, Kelley, who just happened to be born on Bryan’s birthday-Feb. 19. They moved to Grafton, Wisc. in early 1968 and the following year, she was expecting their second daughter. Terry was born in August 1969 and one month later the Coupland’s were headed to Durham, Ontario, to begin missionary training with New Tribes Mission (NTM).
Missionary “boot camp” was difficult, especially for a mom with a newborn baby and a two-year-old living in a small two room apartment with no running water and bathroom. After 18 months, they moved on to the NTM Language School in Missouri. Their third child, Daniel, was born there in Lebanon, Missouri.
Del and Bryan became full members of NTM in June of 1972 and their first assignment was as training staff members at the Durham Ontario training institute. In 1979, they were asked to join the teaching staff at the NTM Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisc. where Bryan was chairman and Del served as married ladies dean.
The Coupland family moved to the country of Panama in 1984 where they served for ten years in a leadership role. Bryan was asked to join the NTM executive board in 1994 and Del served as his secretary, so they moved to the mission headquarters in Sanford, Fla. They served in various capacities world-wide until December 2013 when they retired in Grand Rapids. Bryan and Del have three children, all of whom graduated from Liberty University.
Del was preceded in death by her brother, Fred Browarski.
She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Bryan; children, Kelley (Todd) Duston; Terry (Paul) Calderwood; Daniel (Kari) Coupland; grandchildren, Nathan (Sarah), Andrew (Tori), Anna (Tyson), Noah, David, Daniel, Willow, Abbey, Quinn, Raegan, Riley; great-grandchildren, Alaina, Juniper, Tayden, and Beckam; siblings, Christine (Vince) Divito; and Richard Browarski.
Memorial service will be held 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 21 at Ada Bible Church, 8899 Cascade Road, SE, Ada, Michigan, 49301. Family will greet visitors at 10 a.m.
Any financial gifts should be sent in memory of Del Coupland, to: The Homes of Ethnos 360, 108 Mission Blvd., Sanford, FL 32771. This is the retirement home for elderly, retired missionaries.
