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William (Bill) Coulson was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire,  on February 12th 1934.  His family moved to York when he was a young boy, and it was here that he met his wife, Ann Wilson Bickerdike.
 
Bill qualified as a chemist, but went on to take a PhD at Nottingham, in the Faculty of Agriculture, working on steroid hormone metabolism in sheep.  He then went to the Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School as a junior lecturer and transferred his expertise on hydroxylation reactions to the metabolism of phenylalanine and catecholamines.  He eventually took over leadership of the steroid laboratory at the Courtauld.  When the Middlesex merged with UCL Bill became a stalwart member of the UCL Biochemistry Department, with a considerable teaching load. 

Bill was an inspiring teacher, and a truly amazing man.  It says something about him that many of his PhD students remained in contact with him.  One friendship lasted more than 40 years.  

After his retirement Bill volunteered many hours in his community; attended art classes; and taught himself Mandarin.  He was a great presence in the lives of his three daughters and his grandchildren, Emily, Jake, George, Maya and Sara.  His wife, Ann, had passed away in 1995.

He died after a short illness, at his home with his daughters, Penny, Diane and Lucy at his side.  A wonderful father and grandfather, who is greatly missed.

Bill had requested that a passage from William Shakespeare's play Cymbeline, Act 4, Scene 2, be spoken upon his death.

"Fear no more the heat o'the sun, 
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Though thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' the great;
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The scepter, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust."

There was no funeral.  Having spent his life teaching and inspiring medical students, he has left his body for medical teaching, and so will be able to inspire at least one more cohort of medical students post mortem.

In loving memory of a remarkable man and very dear father.

Written by his daughters: Penny Kayyal, Diane Kefallonitis and Lucy Willis.