Herbert A. Coleman

Herbert Arthur Coleman died unexpectedly on 15 August 2016 at home in Coram, New York. He was the son of Luther and Velma (Stone) Coleman, born on 6 October 1937 at Jamaica, New York.  He graduated from Richmond Hill High School and went on to a career in the operation of a number of organizations from Wall Street to Main Street and from New York to Florida focusing on the fields of bookkeeping and accounting.  He also had over 20 years of service in the Reserve and National Guard where he achieved the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6).  After retirement from both his civilian work and the Air National Guard, he continued to work part time for Josephine’s Shopping Service until June of this year. He was a man who enjoyed cooking and baking, and being with family and friends. For a time he built architectural models reproducing the homes of friends and family in miniature, and creating buildings from the world of his imagination.  He also enjoyed parties, and one of the well remembered events he planned was the party for his parents’ golden wedding anniversary.  He invited more than fifty friends and family members to join him in celebrating this special event, and provided witty observations on the high points of their life together.  More recently he spent many hours taking on the challenges posed by Soduku and crossword puzzles. He is the father of three children: Deborah, Dennis and Christine, by his first wife, Shelagh D. Miller, from whom he was divorced. His second wife, Georgette Loitsch, a former colleague with whom he had lost touch, but met again years later after both had been divorced.  They married at Annapolis MD on 27 May 1981, and spent over thirty happy years together. He was predeceased by his second wife, his parents, his uncle Kermit Coleman, and Grandmother Emma P. Q. who helped to raise him during his earliest years. He is survived by his brothers: Wayne, and Glenn (and wife Dee); his children: Debbie (and husband Nick), Christine (and husband Nick), and Dennis; his cousin Marilyn (and husband Dave); the children of his second wife: Dawn, and James (and wife Laura); nephew James (and wife Michele); three grandchildren, three step grandchildren, a great nephew; three second cousins, and one great grandchild. Herb was interred beside his second wife, Georgette, at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.