Minnie was born in Ireland and married William Coutts (Gold & Silver engraver and former solider from Haddingtonshire, Scotland) in Kent, England 1902. She gave birth to two sons, William and Neville.

In early 1912 William emigrated to the US and raised enough funds to book second class passage for his family to join him. Minnie booked third class berths on Titanic to save money. 

The family could find no way to gain access to the boat deck and were on the verge of giving up hope when a crewman spotted them and said "Hurry now, all women and children to the lifeboats..." and led the family to the boat deck. They escaped on lifeboat two and they were reunited with William in Brooklyn. 

Minnie was widowed in 1956 and then lived with her son Neville gving interviews about her experiences as late as 1957. She passed away in 1960.