Obituary of Douglas M Coleman

Douglas Morris Coleman (70) of Endicott died the night of Friday, February 23 surrounded by his loving family. He is predeceased by his father, Kenneth Coleman and his mother Olga Coleman of Endicott. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Janice Coleman, his daughter Jessica Coleman of New York City and his son, James Coleman of New Haven, Conn. Also surviving Doug are his two brothers, Kenneth Coleman (Beth) of San Diego, Calif and Keith Coleman (Linda) of Downingtown, Pa and a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Linda and Mike Dean. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews and his golden retriever, Nellie. Doug was an area funeral director and owner of Coleman and Daniels Funeral Home. At the age of 21 he inherited the century-old family business and continued its operation for fifty years. In his time as owner/operator he initiated a community-minded coroner call system. He was the Founder of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and attended to the casualties of the Sept 11th terrorist attacks in New York City as a first responder. Doug was a member of the New York State Funeral Directors Association (NYSFDA), the Broome County Funeral Directors' Association (BCFDA), the New York State and Broome County Disaster Committees. He served on the Board of the Union Volunteer Emergency Squad and the Union Endicott Library, and was treasurer of the Village of Endicott Historical Society. Doug was an old car enthusiast and enjoyed tooling around town in his 1976 TR6, 1956 Buick, and his beloved 1950 Desoto as a member of the local chapter of the Desoto Club. His favorite times were spent with his family watching the thunderstorms from the porch at Quaker Lake, and custom engineering scale replicas of fire engines out of brass in his workshop. His hobbies included drawing cartoons, racing his sports car, and playing his guitar. Those who knew him remember him for his ever present dry sense of humor and his kindness and compassion towards others. He leaves behind a heartbroken family. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Coleman and Daniels Funeral Home, 300 East Main St. in Endicott. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Alzheimers Association (441 West Kirkpatrick Street, Syracuse, NY 13204) or the Humane Society of Broome County (167 Conklin Avenue, Binghamton, NY 13903).