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Show Howard Coleman, 95, Dies After Lifetime of Service r , " 1 ' ' Church floats during Fourth of July parades, and did their best to bring others to church. Action in WWI Another important activity to Coleman was his involvement involve-ment with the American Legion--now almost inactive in Park City. Howard enlisted enlist-ed in the American Army in 1 9 1 8 and fought in France for six months. "I was in the quartermaster department, driving trucks, hauling ammunition am-munition to the front lines during the battles. I had some pretty close calls but they didn't get me. Several times we had to make for a dugout and leave a truck-the shells were falling all around us." He partook in far-away battles with names like St. Die Sector, and the Battle of Marbache. Coleman was commander of the American Legion Frank E. Peterson Post for several years. The veterans met at the Memorial Building and Howard remembers, "We used to go to the cemetery every Memorial morning and put flags on the graves of the veterans. Now most all the men that were with us are gone. So now I go down every Memorial Day and put the flag up at the cemetery at about six in the morning. There's nobody down there but the gophers and me." Coleman remembers doing this with Doctor Barsdal, Bill Neil, Ernest Lange. Carl Winters and Phil Santy. Fi asier Buck was another legionnaire. Howard's adopted son is a World War II Marine veteran. vete-ran. Howard Jr. attended Park City schools, was in Ken Webb's scount troop, and learned photograph) from Webb. When he first moved to Denver, he worked in photography before starting start-ing a janitorial' firm. He's now a successful businessman business-man with several employees. "He has a patent on a window washing outfit , and sells quite a few," the pround father recounts, showing pictures of his son, daughter-in-law, Margine, and grandchildren Sharon and Carl. Only Black Man Again Howard says he was the " only black man in Park City when he first came. A few other families came later, and frequently stayed with hinrat first. Arthur Douglas and his wife are now buried in the city cemetery and Art Sibley moved to California with his family. His daughter Dorothy was the first negro child born in Park City, Justine recalls. The Colemans say, "The white people in Park City are the best friends we have. You'd think we belonged to their race. They're wonderful wonder-ful people." Howard said, "I've lived in Park City through a lot of depressions but I never had any idea we'd have as many buildings and so much growth and change." He likes the fact that there's a docotor who makes house calls, and that Main Street parking has changed. One thing Howard doesn't like about the new Park City is that outsiders are brought in to fill positions he believes people already here are qualified to fill. Justine, has enjoyed learning learn-ing more black history than she ever knew about through Bicentennial year special TV programming and publications. publicat-ions. She thinks the future of her race is grow ing brighter and said, "if they'd treated other blacks like they treated me. things would have been quite different years ago." Justine isn't too confident about the long-range future however. "It looks like the world's going to come to an end pretty soon. The old man above is going to show us who's boss. There are seven seals to be opened that the Bible speaks of and six have already been opened." But the Colemans are not preoccupied with this type of apocalypic thinking. Justine is bathed by three nurses who come regularly and refuse a penny remuneration. remunerat-ion. However still opens the door for women, with parcels at the Post Office, and they . still love one another deeply. Howard Coleman, 95, of Park City, died in a Salt Lake City hospital September 17, 1981. Born August 27, 1886 ir Kentucky, Tie came west with the railroads in the early 1900s. Mr. Coleman retired from the Park City office of United States Postal Service and was a long-time resident of Park City. He was a Veteran of World War I. Former Commander of Park City American Legion. Member Mem-ber and former treasurer of the Park City Community Church. Survivors: wife, Justine, one son, Howard, two grandchildren, Carl and Sharron, of Denver, Colorado. Colora-do. Funeral Services were held Tuesday at 2 p.m Howard Coleman was one of Park City's most distinguished distin-guished citizens having devoted de-voted a lifetime to community commu-nity service and the needs of others. His life emulated the parable of the good Samaritan. Samari-tan. The following is an article on Mr. Coleman and his wife Justine. It first appeared in the Park. Record in 1976. Howard Coleman, 88, and his wife of 20 years. Justine, 85, don't go out much anymore but their Empire Avenue home boats a fine garden, reconstructed by Howard after the old mine tram route became a city improvement district. Inside, he tenderly cares for her, and they are visited frequently fre-quently by their many Park City friends. Howard's Main Street garden gar-den has now given way to the Post Office addition. But for many years it was a source of community pride, and. some of the "Federal Building" flowers he planted and tended took numerous prizes at various flower shows. Coleman worked as the Post ; Office custodian for 37'A years, from 1921 until 1957. He ws asked to apply by then Postmaster Frank McLaughlin McLaugh-lin who lived near him in the New Park Hotel. Park City's mines were going full blast and the small Post Office (across Fourth Street from Bloom's) no'longer sufficed. "So 1 took an exam, and got a letter from Washington ; D.C. two months later telling v me I'd been appointed custodian. The first year I c started, the lot next to the , ; new building was a regular k dumping ground. So I packed dirt from where Marsac School is now, and ; got old tires and planted flowers in them. Two years later they decided to grade it and put in a lawn and I continued to take care of the garden." Pleasure by Helping Others He became a popular figure not only due to his green thumb, however. A PARK RECORD story marking his retirement (October 31, 1957) states, "Mr. Coleman's Cole-man's career as a federal employee was an auspicious and exemplary one." He personally delivered expected expect-ed parcels or letters to patrons anxiously awaiting their mail and carried thousands thou-sands of parcels to waiting autos. Many remember him as one deriving great pleasure pleas-ure by helping others. Howard was born in Her-odsburg, Her-odsburg, Kentucky, where his family worked a farm. As a young man, he heeded Horace Greeley's advice and decided to come west. He began working for the Pullman Company, stationed first in Cincinnati, and later was transferred to St. Louis and then Salt Lake, though he admits, "I ran all over the country." Coleman tended to passengers aboard the elegant ele-gant Pullman sleeper cars as they travelled all' night betweet Salt Lake and Yellowstone on two-three car trains during the summer. He came to visit a friend working at Blythe Fargo store (located where the Memorial Building now stands) and was offered a custodial job by Murray O'Keefe, who was then managing the New Park HoteL The pay sounded good, so he took her up. Proposal by Mail When asked what brought her west, Justine quickly replied, "Howard Coleman." Cole-man." His former wife, Cloudwas a friend of hers in their native Cincinnati. After Cloud died, Howard proposed propos-ed to Justine by mail. They'd only been together twice, and hadn't seen one another in eight years. Howard didn't have her address, so he sent the letter via a friend. "He asked me to send him a picture so he could identify me w hen I came. I had one, but I didn't like it, so I didn't send it. I travelled on the Challenger, a 'slow train through Arkansas'--it moved so slow, I thought it was never going to get to Utah," Justine recalled. But arrive it did, and the two of course recognized each other. They were married the following day by Bishop Durrant in the house they still inhabit. Both claim the love at first sight has endured. "Our horoscopes horo-scopes always correspond. Howard almost knows what I'm thinking," Justine claims. Christian faith has been very important to the Colemans. Cole-mans. During the 1950's when Park City was poor and small, they were frequently the only ones to attend the Community Church. Justine was raised Baptist; Howard's How-ard's always been a Methodist. Metho-dist. They were there to open the church on Sundays, kept the whole building in good shape, and arranged for preachers to come from Salt Lake. Two or three times, Howard said he took charge of the service's when there was no preacher. In healthier days for the church, they recalled Walt Aman and his wife--both ministers, they'd preach on alternate Sundays. Justine is happy that the church now has a Sunday School-"what 1 always wanted when we attended." He served many years on the Church's board of trustees, and was treasurer treasu-rer for about eight years. Howard and Justine were sometimes the sole creators and riders on Communit |