Barry Organ Coleman's Obituary
Barry was born October 8, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois and passed away peacefully on May 9, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Barbara Forester Coleman, and predeceased by his beloved mother, Jewel Belle Organ Coleman. He is survived also by his five children and their spouses: Russell F. Coleman and his wife Martha Coleman, Anne Coleman Hartley and her husband Mark Hartley, Regan Coleman, Douglas Coleman and his wife Colleen Morris, and Hugh Coleman and his wife Bernadette Coleman. He is survived also by his eleven grandchildren: Michael Coleman, Catherine Hartley, Margaret Coleman, Sarah Coleman, Grace Coleman, Russell Barry Coleman, John Coleman, Ben Coleman, Hugh J. Coleman, Helena Coleman, and Summer Hartley. He is survived also by sister-in-law Rosemary Forester Combs, sister-in-law Susan Forester Brauchle, and Susan’s husband Eldon Brauchle. Family was everything to Barry. He devoted countless loving hours to Barbara, their children and grandchildren. He was the El Paso, Texas Father of the Year in 1971 and in our hearts the recognition was well-deserved, then and all years prior and subsequent. Patiently and with love, he faithfully served community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Presbyterian Youth, to name but a few of dozens, and he steadfastly supported Barbara during her years of service on the El Paso ISD Board and the R.E. Thomason General Hospital Board. After graduating from Morgan Park Military Academy, Chicago, Illinois, a part-time job at Walgreens in downtown Chicago led to a Walgreens scholarship that facilitated his college studies at the University of Arkansas college of pharmacy. After college graduation Barry came to El Paso courtesy of the U.S. Army. He soon came to love El Paso and adopted it as his hometown. He was the night pharmacist at William Beaumont Army Hospital, Fort Bliss, Texas, and also the chief pharmacist at El Paso’s Hotel Dieu Hospital. After military service he and Barbara opened the first Coleman Pharmacy in 1960 at the old Medical Arts Building at Yandell and Campbell Streets. Over the years Barry and Barbara grew the business into a chain of eleven pharmacies: Sun Drugs, Inc. and Coleman Pharmacies, Inc. Care for the pharmacies’ patients was of paramount importance to him. A magazine article reported that “Coleman Pharmacies are successful. Since 1960 the company has grown – larger staff, more products, more services. Of all the changes, one thing likely to stay the same is the attitude. ‘We think our customers are important people,’ says Coleman, a pharmacist whom people trust.” He supported many of his employees who worked at the pharmacies part-time while attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was proud that fifteen of his employees earned college degrees at UTEP while working at the pharmacies. He also was an avid supporter of UTEP health science programs and UTEP athletics. Barry’s mother, Illinois Commissioner of Labor in the 1940s, instilled in him the responsibility of civic and community involvement. He served as President of the Texas Pharmacy Association, Chairman of the El Paso City-County Board of Health, President of the El Paso County Historical Society, President of the El Paso Downtown Kiwanis Club, President of the West Texas Pharmacy Association, a Director of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, and President of the El Paso County Pharmacy Association. He was active in University Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon. He was active in Texas Democratic politics, serving as a regional contact for the Hubert Humphrey presidential campaign and as a regional organizer for statewide officeholders and candidates. He will be remembered for his cheek-to-cheek dimpled grin; love of El Paso, UTEP, and El Paso/Southwestern history; his and Barbara’s Leon County, Texas country home; bow ties; and his sense of humor. His life answered well the question of Micah 6:8: what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? A memorial service celebrating Barry’s life will be held on Saturday, May 16th, at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, 1835 Young Street. Memorials may be made to the UTEP Pharmacy Program professorship that Barry and Barbara established last year for research which advances public health along the U.S.-Mexico border (c/o the UTEP Development Office, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, Texas 79968 or online at givingto.utep.edu/coleman). Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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