James Arch Coleman, Md

J.A. Coleman, MD July 13, 1921 January 24, 2013 Dr. James Arch Coleman, Jr., Waco physician active for almost 60 years in civic and benevolent projects, died Thursday morning in Waco. He was 91. Graveside services will be 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 29, in Oakwood Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m., at First United Methodist Church in Waco. Dr. Coleman was born in Cleveland, MS, July 13, 1921. He graduated from Cleveland High School and Delta State College, and won a Kellogg Scholarship to the University of Tennessee Medical School at Memphis, TN. He did his residency at Scott and White, and served in the U.S. Army as a medical officer in the South Pacific and later in Wichita, Kansas, from 1948 to 1950. He returned to Scott and White after his service, eventually setting up practice in Waco and establishing a clinic in partnership with Dr. Jack Sloan in 1955. He was president of the McLennan County Medical Society in 1974, and chief of the medical staff at Hillcrest Hospital in the 1970s. Dr. Coleman practiced medicine in Waco from 1955 to 2000, and throughout his life continued his support for the Methodist Church, the Salvation Army, the Gideon Society, and the Aldersgate Enrichment Center, which he helped found. He was instrumental in starting the Family Practice Center in Waco, at the time an innovative project to train physicians in family medicine. He served the Methodist Church in many lay offices over the years. He was recognized during his service as a Texas Layman of the Year. Dr. Coleman married Esther Lillian Weiss, an anesthetist, in 1946, when they both worked at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, TX. Mrs. Coleman predeceased Dr. Coleman in 2008. They had two children, James Arch Coleman III, who died in 1998, and Brenda Catherine Coleman of Chicago. He is survived by his daughter, Brenda; a sister, Mrs. Eleanor Garrett of Cleveland, MS; his daughter-in-law, Mary McNabb Coleman; two grandchildren, James Arch Jake Coleman, IV and Amy Leigh Martin; two great granddaughters, Ellen Coleman and Emily Coleman, all of Waco; and many nieces and nephews. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials might be sent to the Aldersgate Enrichment Center, PO Box 1406, Brownwood, TX 76804-1406. Aldersgate provides residential and vocational opportunities for persons with limited abilities. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.