Hettie M Coleman

On February 7, 2011, the Lord Jesus Christ took our beloved Hettie Marie Coleman to her Heavenly Home. Her home going was very peaceful as loved ones gathered around her in her home with quiet prayer and praise.

Hettie Marie was born in Denton, Texas on October 12, 1916, the third of five children born to James Armour Roxburgh and Hettie B. Marlowe. The family moved to Corsicana, Texas as Marie entered first grade. As a child she loved to read and frequently made daily trips to the public library becoming a favored patron. She excelled in school and graduated from Corsicana High School with honors. Limited finances allowed her to study at Westminster Jr. College in Tehuacana, Texas for only one year. In August of 1938 she married DL Coleman, a wonderful husband who truly loved, admired and supported her in all her many areas of achievement. They were married 56 years.

Marie first moved to Midland shortly after the beginning of WWII and lived with her older sister Dura Clarke while their husbands were in the service. The women moved several times during the war to be close to their husbands, but afterwards, the two couples made their home in Midland. In the late 1940s and 50s Marie worked in Midland’s booming petroleum industry as an executive secretary and land man for E Walter Anguish, an independent oil man.

Upon their arrival in Midland, Marie and DL joined the First United Methodist Church where her teaching gifts were soon recognized and she was asked to teach in the Sunday school program, which she did continuously for more than 55 years, until 2002. Over the years she taught many different classes including a college class which she and DL taught together, a young married couple’s class and the Boone Bible Class, among others. She also took a leadership roll in the United Methodist Women’s organization and was a regular Bible teacher for Church Women United, an interchurch fellowship. Marie was a woman of prayer. She prayed faithfully for mission works all over the world. In 1980, she became a board member and bookkeeper for Daughters of Praise, a nonprofit ministry founded by her niece and ministry partner, who served the Lord in various foreign countries. Marie’s desire to see others know Jesus led her to have a Good News Club for children in her home for many years. Later she was asked to teach “Bible” as an elective for three years in Midland’s three high schools. She considered this one of the greatest privileges and joys of her life! Her life was characterized by her love for the Word of God and faithfulness. Her love for others and her desire to be obedient to the Holy Spirit enabled her to encourage others to follow Jesus. She and DL hosted a regular Friday evening prayer meeting as well as a small Bible study group in their home for many years.

Marie’s love for reading and her gifting in public speaking made her a regular and favorite speaker with the Women’s Club and the En Amie Book Review Club. She was also a member of the Palette Club and developed a remarkable skill for china painting. She blessed numerous newly married couples with entire sets of beautifully hand painted china!

She was a giver! Marie gave her life to Jesus as a young girl and then generously gave her life in service to others. In 1958 Marie and DL welcomed into their home a young Hungarian refuge couple that arrived with one suitcase and their one-year-old daughter. Soon they also opened their home to a friend of this couple, another refuge who found himself “alone in America”. Marie & DL did not have their own children, but offered their love and the warmth of their home to many through the years. Marie loved her family and was a favorite aunt to all her nieces and nephews. Her home was always comfortable and welcoming, the perfect place for family gatherings!

Marie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her three sisters, Dura Clarke, Margaret Gordon and Jimmie Bledsoe, her brother John Roxburgh and her nephew Edward Lionel Clarke. Her nieces and nephews, Judy Clarke of Midland, Jim Gordon of Lubbock, Rebecca Butler of Georgia, John Roxburgh Jr. and Jerry Lynn Gadberry of Arkansas and Michael Bledsoe of Dallas, and many grand and great grand nieces and nephews survive her.