Tom Coleman

Tom Coleman of North Mankato, formerly of Le Sueur, died peacefully at home on November 18, 2009, with his loving wife, Mary at his side.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m., Monday, November 23, 2009, at Holy Rosary Church in North Mankato, with Rev. Peter Nosbush officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Le Sueur. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Mankato Mortuary, and will continue one hour before the service at the church on Monday. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to ISJ Hospice or Caring Bridge.

Thomas Francis Sebastian Coleman was born 83 years ago in St. Paul, MN, to Tom and Agnes. He left high school during WWII to join the Navy where he proudly served four years in the Pacific theater and experienced numerous battles, including being aboard one of the baby flattops during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After he came home he met and fell in love with a lovely young lady named Fern Wolfram and they married in 1948. They were the proud parents of six children, Kate, Kevin, Peg, Mary, Connie and Joan. They had many friends and had great fun attending and hosting parties. Tom had a number of interests (before his kids took all his time and money!) — he played baseball on the town team, he and his brother Brendan loved to hunt, and Tom’s friend George taught him to fly small airplanes. When Tom took the test for his pilot’s license he made one slight mistake and landed downwind, and as a result his pilot friends insisted that his radio call sign from that point on had to be “Downwind”. Tom’s oldest children remember going for airplane rides after church on Sunday mornings. Tom and Fern worked hard to provide for their family and they planned for a long life together. That plan crumbled when Fern died in 1981 and Tom was left heartbroken. As time went by, Tom adjusted to being alone and actually became quite a good cook. He was in charge of bringing his famous apple pie to every family event. He retired from working for the county as a heavy equipment operator but discovered that retirement wasn’t very interesting. He started tinkering around in his workshop where he discovered his love for woodworking. He spent many hours building various pieces and took great joy in giving them as gifts. Seven years passed before Tom met a beautiful woman named Mary Hettinga. After dating her for several years, he gathered the courage to ask for her hand in marriage and was thrilled when she said yes! Mary brought three children to the marriage, Jodi, Don and Shari. Tom loved them as much as he loved their mother, and the Coleman kids were thrilled to have another brother and 2 more sisters. As the years went by, the family expanded with weddings to add to the family.

Survivors include Tom’s wife, Mary; children and stepchildren: Kate (Mike) Peterson of Waseca, Kevin (Carol) Coleman of Lake Zurich, IL, Peg Coleman of Raleigh, NC, Mary (Craig) Sallstrom of Burnsville, Connie (Everett) LeVine of Le Sueur, Joan (Steve) Schonning of Brooklyn Center, Jodi Hettinga of Madison, WI, Don (Chris) Hettinga of Owatonna and Shari (Pat) Baldwin of Wauwatosa, WI; grandchildren include Scot (Jenise) Peterson, Jill (Matt) Johnson, Christopher, Bryan, & Dan Coleman, Emily (Anthony) Haupt, Grant, Laura, and Megan Sallstrom, Brittany, Mollie, and Gavin Kroehler, Aaron and Kelsey Schonning, Ethan and Lauren Hettinga, Jackson and Amelia Baldwin, Taryn Clayton, and one great-grandchild Ayden Peterson. Tom loved each addition, especially the little kids. Tom and Mary spent over 24 years together and made many wonderful memories.

We have faith that Tom was greeted by that “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the Bible who testify to a life beyond this one. We trust that among those witnesses were his parents, Tom and Agnes; Tom’s first wife, Fern; his brother, Brendan; his son-in-law, Craig; and many other relatives and friends.

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