Brandon Dean Couch
Courtesy Mandy Ferrell
Brandon Dean Couch
July 1, 1985 to April 8, 2008
Brandon Dean Couch was born July 1, 1985, in Greenfield, Indiana to Richard and Peggy Couch. He had two sisters, Sabrina Simpson and Jessica Couch. Couch grew up on the family farm where he baled hay, raised beef cattle, and also participated in tractor pull competitions. Couch began playing football at age 8. During his football years, Couch was diagnosed with epilepsy and had to take a year or two off from playing his favorite game. His will was too strong to keep him away and once the seizures stopped, he went back to playing.
Courtesy Mandy Ferrell
After graduating from New Palestine High School in May 2003, Couch continued his education by attending Rose-Hulman. He was a member of the Rose-Hulman football team. Couch won The Spirit of Chauncey Rose Award three years in a row. This was awarded to him unanimously every year. The award will be renamed as the Brandon Couch Award in his honor.
Couch was a tutor for the Homework Hotline and an employee of the Mail Distribution Center. Couch was a sophomore advisor, and this is how he met his fiancée, Amanda Ferrell. He was also a brother of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.
Courtesy Mandy Ferrell
Couch attended every basketball game for which Ferrell was a cheerleader, and was the official time keeper for the women’s lacrosse team. He also enjoyed spending time with friends and was very approachable to talk with. He enjoyed playing billiards, bowling, board games, collecting movies, and doing crossword puzzles. He was a major fan of playing Xbox and both Ferrell and Couch played “Grand Theft Auto” together.
After completing his degree in the fall of 2007, Couch became employed at Harrison Steel Manufacturing in Attica, Indiana. He had worked there since November as a project manager, working on a half a million-dollar project.
In the spring of 2009, Couch and Ferrell had planned on being married on Valentine’s Day in Anderson, Indiana. They had planned on going to Paris, France for their honeymoon.
I’ll never forget the first thing I thought before I walked into his room [freshman year]: “Couch is a funny last name, and I’m glad it’s not mine!” The moment I saw him, his face lit up, as so many of you can probably see even now. Some days later, he told me that he never actually imagined he’d find love. He actually hoped that since he decided to become an engineer, he could make some money that would reel someone in. The night before school started, Brandon and I talked all night out on Mees patio, and when we went to breakfast that morning, we didn’t say a word — but we didn’t have to. It seemed childish at the time and I knew it did, but I already felt like I wanted to be with this guy forever.
Mandy Ferrell — Fiancée
There are probably not enough nice words in the English language to describe Brandon Couch. He worked for me in the Mail Distribution Center, maybe I should say he worked with me and everyone else; he helped everyone. Brandon was always considerate of everyone else’s feelings.
My wife and I were fortunate enough to have been able to spend a little bit of time with him and Mandy outside of the Rose atmosphere, and my wife’s first impression of Brandon probably sums it up best—When you were in a conversation with Brandon, he made you feel as though you were the most important person in the room, no matter who or how many others were there.
Rick Alumbaugh — Manager, Mail Distribution Center
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