Obituary of William E Coleman

In Remembrance Of William Edward Coleman May 18, 1939- October 11,2020 Strength, courage, perseverance, and determination are a few words that describe William E. Coleman- son, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, friend and employee. He was a man of extraordinary strength and grace sent from God to be a blessing to all he encountered. His resilience and tenacity along with his faith propelled him to be victorious in his battle against congestive heart failure. He fought the good fight and won in the transition to his eternal rest on October 11, 2020. William, affectionately known as Bill was born in Middleburg, North Carolina on May 18, 1939, the twelfth of thirteen children of Livey and Cornelia Bullock Coleman. William, attended Henderson Institute, Henderson, NC and at the age of 17 he proudly enlisted in the army, stationed at Ft. Benning, GA. Through mutual friends, William met and married the love of his life Shirley Ann Freeman Coleman. He knew at first site, Shirley Ann would be his wife and he told her so on their first date. From this union he parented two children, Kathy and William, Jr. Driven by his sense of all that being a provider entailed, Bill wanted a stability for his family and embarked on building their current home using his own skills and the help of his friends to do so. Bill was an avid Jets fan, Yankees fan and enjoyed watching Women's Basketball. When he was not watching sports, you could find him sitting in front of the television watching Westerns, Judge Mathis, Family Feud or Pawn Shop. He was also an avid reader of westerns with his favorite author being Louis L'Amour. Bill was employed by Ford Motor Company, Edison NJ for over 28 years, until his retirement in 1991. He came out of retirement in 2006 and became a driver at Abilities of Northwest Jersey, Washington, NJ until he no longer could perform his duties. William was an active member in the community and could be found helping people in need throughout the county. His love for his family was endless but he always found room in his heart to embrace others. His caring led him to become a Big Brother Volunteer in 2002. As was his nature, if he was in he was all in. Whether it was a football or basketball game, you would always find him in the bleachers supporting "EJ" his mentee or taking "EJ" to the barbershop for a haircut. And during the holiday season, he would help with the local toy drive for area children. This was further exemplified by his becoming a little league umpire, traveling throughout New Jersey to do what he loved, working with children. Through his love, family gatherings grew to become much anticipated community events as Bill reached out to others at Christmas and family summer cookouts where you could find him at the helm of frying fish. William was a lifelong member of Mt. Pisgah AME Church, Washington, NJ, and a member of the Warren/Sussex County Chapter NAACP. He was a man of extraordinary strength and grace sent from God to be a blessing to all he encountered. William was preceded in death by his twelve siblings and son-in-law Wade Bryant William leaves a tremendous legacy of determination, resilience, strength, courage and endurance to his wife of 54 years Shirley Coleman, his children, Kathy Bryant(Charles) of Washington, NJ, William E. Coleman, Jr.(Alexia) of Dallas, Texas, grandchildren, Michael Comick of Gross Gerau, Germany, Kevin Coleman(Brielle) and Kaitlyn Coleman all from Ft. Myers, FL, Taylor Coleman of Staten Island, NY, Kathrin Flesch, Mainz, Germany and Lisa Schukert, Gross Gerau, Germany, his great-grandchildren, Elias Comick and Kayla Comick of Mainz Germany, brothers-in-law, Thomas R. VanHorn of Washington, NJ, James Henderson of Newark NJ, sisters- in-law Donna Freeman and Debra (Willie) Franklin all from Washington, NJ. He also leaves to mourn his death many nieces, nephews, cousins, family and friends. Family and friends may pay their respects on Friday, October 16, 2020 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM at the Warren Hills Memorial Home, 234 W. Washington Ave., Washington, NJ 07882 Funeral service will be held Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 10:30 AM at Faith Discovery Church, 33 Brass Castle Road, Washington, NJ 07882. Burial will immediately follow the service in Washington Cemetery, 1 Cemetery Hill Road, Washington, NJ 07882 In lieu of flowers, the family has requested remembrances be made in the form of contributions to Washington Emergency Squad, 100 Belvidere Ave., Washington, NJ 07882, Abilities of Northwest Jersey, Inc 264 Route 31, Washington, NJ 07882. or Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Warren County Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Warren Hills Memorial Home, 234 W. Washington, Washington, NJ 07882