Doris N. Coleman

Doris Nell Coleman (nee Pirtle), age 78, of Utica, died Sunday December 18, 2011 at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township after a long illness. Mrs. Coleman was born in Milan, Tennessee on July 26, 1933 to Walter and Alene Pirtle of Lavinia, Tennessee. She worked the family farm with her parents and two sisters, Helen and Norma, and attended Medina High School where she and her sisters were outstanding basketball athletes. She married Dr. B.R. Coleman, also a Lavinia native, in 1951. She attended Memphis Academy of Arts, Memphis, Tennessee; Union University, Jackson, Tennessee and Troy State University, Troy, Alabama. Mrs. Coleman began her professional career as a fine artist, known for portraits and sculpture, winning several awards nationally and later moved into commercial and graphic art. In addition to her passion for art, she was an avid reader and decorator and enjoyed driving long road trips. She regretted never having been a race car driver. She is predeceased by her parents, her husband and her sister, Helen Kipp. Her survivors include her daughter, Marsha (Michael) Doege (nee Coleman) of Macomb, Mich.; her step-grandson, Jeffrey Doege of Beaumont, Texas and her sister, Norma Jean (Richard) Emerson of Saulsbury, Tenn. There will be no local services. Memorial gifts may be made to the Utica Public Library, 7530 Auburn, Utica, MI, 48317 or The Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202.