BUXTON – Raymond Stewart Couch, 61, passedsuddenly on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, on the eve of Ash Wednesday, nearRivas, Nicaragua while vacationing with friends.
Stewart Couch was the owner of Hatteras Realty. He was a giftedbusinessman and a pioneer and trendsetter in the vacation rentalindustry, having built the company from a fledgling operation in 1982to a nationally-known vacation rental property management company,managing nearly 600 homes and employing almost 200 people during theheight of the vacation season.
Stewart was a world traveler, having spent more than 40 years travelingto the far reaches of the globe to experience the world’s renowned surfbreaks. These excursions and the knowledge gained from them fortifiedhis love for Hatteras Island and its people. His passion and respectfor the heritage and recreational beauty of Hatteras Island and theOuter Banks through his travels reinforce the Cape Hatteras NationalSeashore as a world-class vacation resort. He was a ninth generationNorth Carolinian and an outspoken advocate for Hatteras Island’sresidents, visitors, and friends.
He will be remembered for his zany sense of humor, which added aninvaluable element to his communication skills in business and in life.
He was born on July 20, 1950 at Fort Belvoir, Va., the first child ofRay and Nita Couch. He was a proud alumnus of East Carolina Universityin Greenville, N.C,, where he graduated with a bachelor of sciencedegree in business administration in 1973.
Stewart’s professional accomplishments on the Outer Banks include:Founding Director of the North Carolina Vacation Rental ManagersAssociation (NCVRMA); National Director, VRMA; State Director, NorthCarolina Assn. of Realtors; 2004 President, Outer Banks Association ofRealtors, and past Director, Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce. Hecarried 17 professional designations and licenses in the real estateindustry.
He is survived by his beloved daughter, Elizabeth Nicole “Nikki” Couchof Kill Devil Hills; his brothers, John Couch and Danny Couch and wife,Sherry, all of Buxton; niece Jenny Couch Clark and husband, Jeff, andtheir children, Alaina and Nate, all of Cary, N.C.; niece Rae Couch andnephews Gideon Couch and Griffin Couch, all of Buxton, and a beloved,extensive family of uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends in his mother’snative Kansas.
His family is indebted to the community of realtors, homebuilders,residents, and friends of the Outer Banks and beyond for their love andsupport during this time. We are dearly indebted to his travelingcompanions on his last expedition, friends Steve Magliano and JodyStowe of Hatteras Island; the consul and staff at the American Embassyin Managua, Nicaragua; Sen. Richard Burr’s office in Winston-Salem,N.C., and Washington, D.C.; U.S. Rep. Walter Jones’ offices inGreenville, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; Nikki’s mother, Ms. JackieRicks-Sample of Kill Devil Hills; Mr. David Twiford, Jr., of KittyHawk, and Mr. Roberto Cardenal of Managua, Nicaragua.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Outer BanksAssociation of Realtors (OBAR) Scholarship Fund, 201 W. Eighth St.,Nags Head, NC 27959 or the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance(CHAPA), PO Box 1355, Buxton, NC 27920.
A family/viewing evening will be held Wednesday, Feb. 29, from 7 until9 p.m. at the Buxton United Methodist Church on Highway 12 in Buxton. Acelebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March1, with Rev. Cory Oliver and Rev. Dwight Burrus officiating. Areception will follow at Hatteras Realty in Avon
Twiford Funeral Homes is handling the arrangements. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.twifordfh.com.
