CMSgt. Phil A Coleman , USAF (Ret.)

A memorial graveside service will be held to commemorate the life of CMSgt (Ret) Phil A. Coleman at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home & Park in Haughton, Louisiana at 1:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Chief Coleman, a sharecropper’s son, was born in the rural area of Sunflower County, Mississippi on February 28, 1931, and passed away on December 28, 2025, in his home with his family in Indiana.

As a child, he attended Gunnison Consolidated School until his family moved to West Helena, Arkansas in 1945. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1950 and was a B-29 Top Gunner in the Korean War. Then, he became a Boom Operator on the KC-135 and served in the Honor Guard for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Later, he served as the Base Sergeant Major (Command Chief Master Sergeant) at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana and retired from his service in the United States Air Force as Chief Master Sergeant in 1978.

He married his late wife, Blanche E. Chipman Coleman in 1956, and had two children, Lori and Chip. After his military career, he owned and operated an HVAC business in Bossier City, Louisiana and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He loved fishing, gardening, and sports of all kinds, especially baseball, hockey, and football. His favorite teams were the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Hockey Team and the Washington Redskins Football Team.

Preceding in death are his wife, Blanche E. Coleman; son, Scott “Chip” Allen Coleman; grandson, Timothy Allen Espe; father, Andrew Coleman; mother, Lettie Coleman Chamness; stepfather Valco Chamness; brothers John, Lamar, Tommy, and Bernie; sister, Lavela.

He is survived by his daughter, Lori and Jack of Universal, Indiana and his daughter-in-law, Candace “Candy” of Bossier City, Louisiana. Also survived are grandsons MSgt (Ret) Adam and Jennifer, Austin and Julie, Jason and Nikki, Jeremy “Jake” and Erica; granddaughters, Abbi, Mallory and Eric, Kristen, Jennifer and Jeremy; several great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and cherished friends in the U.S., Canada, and abroad.