In the late 1950s and ’60s, Carl and Reba Couey’s roller skating rinks were the place to be.
“It was like family when you were there,” said Debbie Wright of Sharpsburg, who first went to the Coueys’ South Cobb Roller Rink in 1959. “I met them when I was 5 years old. It was a great, great place and Reba was a big part of that.”
Ms. Wright, who still skates after nearly 50 years, says Reba Couey made each of those days at the roller rink very special.
“She never met a stranger,” Ms. Wright said. “You’ll see a bunch of adults who started as kids at rink, bringing their children and grandchildren there. Even now, when I’m wearing a skating rink T-shirt, someone will come up to me and say, ‘That’s where I learned to skate.’ ”
Reba McCurdy Couey, 83, died June 6 after a long illness.
Ms. Couey’s daughter, Gina Couey Prince, is not surprised that her mother touched so many lives.
“The amount of love they had for people was amazing, especially my mother,” said Ms. Prince. “She was a very elegant lady, but could show her tomboy side and put on her jeans and pitch in.”
The Coueys opened the South Cobb rink in 1959 and the Cresent Park Skating Rink & Swimming Pool in 1962.
In 1989, they opened Dazzle Roller Rink I, followed by Dazzles Roller Rink II in 1990.
Ms. Couey operated the ticket booth and was the first face skaters got to see at the rink.
“The skaters became her children,” Ms. Prince said.
Ms. Couey learned to skate when she and her husband were dating, friends and family said.
“[My dad] told her,‘If you date me, you’re going to have to learn to skate,’ ” Ms. Prince said. “And so she did. They were married for 63 years.”
Ms. Prince said her parents’ capacity to open their hearts to others led them to adopt her and her brother Brad through Family and Children Services. Brad Couey was killed in a car accident in 1981. He was 21.
Ms. Couey was appointed to the board of Family and Children Services by Gov. Lester Maddox.
“She really loved to help others,” Ms. Prince said.
Ms. Couey spent her time gardening and decorating her Douglasville home.
The family will receive friends today at Rosehaven Funeral Home in Douglasville from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The funeral will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Rosehaven Chapel.
In addition to her husband and daughter, survivors include two grandchildren.
