Lela Coleman

On Friday, March 26, 1926, Lela Akins became a new addition to the family of Matthew and Addie Scott Akins. She was the couples first-born child, joining an older sister and brotherMertieand EddieSteadham. She grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas, in an area known asthe pond;it was a close-clad neighborhood. She attended the Winters School and E. J. Campbell School.

At the age of 14 she moved to Kilgore, Texas to live with her beloved sister and her brother-in-law,Mertieand James Stoker. A few years later, she was introduced to a young soldier named Freddie Coleman. They fell in love and were married on June 5, 1944.

The couple settled in Kilgore,and welcomedtheir first child Carolyn Jo; Jerry followed; and Jackie was the third born. Wanda Joyce passed away a week after she was born. The births of Kenneth, Kathy Lynn and Fred Wayne completed the sibling roster. Her marriage spanned some 35 years until her husbands death in 1979.

Jerry Don succumbed to injuries he suffered in an industrial accident in 1971. Fred Wayne died in an automobile accident in 1996.

As busy mother she found time to serve as a Girl Scouts leader, and she was active in the PTA. Another of her affiliations was the Kilgore Garden Club. Many believed that members of the club focused more on the spreads they enjoyed at the meeting than the flowers.

The Coleman family matriarch worked at Kilgore College and in the Kilgore ISD; and she, along with her husband, owned and operated ColemansWashateriafor some years.

For many years she was a member of the Westview Church of Christ. Foratime, she worshipped at the Chandler Street Church of Christ. At the time of her death, she was a member of the New Hope Church of Christ although her declining health made attendance very difficult.

So many wonderful memories are left to those who survive her: her Jacks playing prowess which bewildered her girls; her dancing as she ironed; her fondness of bid whiz; the sentence whippings that she dished out unapologetically when they were needed; her culinary skills, her unconditional love for family and friends; her unwavering faith in God, and the unabashed honesty she developed during her later dayssome call it as having no filters.

Her mother and father and brothers EddieSteadham, A.C. Akins, Willie Akins, McAlister Akins, and William Akins preceded her in death as did her beloved sisterMertieStoker, and grandson Howard Jarvis Walker.

The rich legacy that Gran, as she is affectionately called by her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great, great grandchildren, bequeaths will be cherished by her daughters Carolyn Starling, Kilgore, Texas; Jacquelyn Tolbert, Longview, Texas; and Kathy Coleman, Irving, Texas; and her son Kenneth Coleman, Rosharon, Texas; her sisters:AleanLampkin,Kilgore, Texas;AvonRedic, Dallas, Texas;and MammieMumphrey, Tyler, Texas; her grandchildrenStephen Walker, Harold James Walker and his wife Bianca, Cinque Coleman,TorreoColeman, Alexis Dunn and her husband Corey and Sherry Brown and her husband Jay. Additionally, hergreat-grandchildren: Cameron Feathers, Journey Feathers,CarlanDunn, Ashlyn Dunn,MonalisaWalker, Robert Walker, Khadijah Walker, Gerald Walker,TorreannaColeman, Roman Walker, and Raegan Walker and great-great grandchildrenNahlaWalker and Demi Walker are also the beneficiaries of the legacy as are scores of nieces and nephews. Completing the list of grands whom she cherished are Renee Sandford and Perry Starling, Jr., DestinyLainezand Christina Pena, andRegeneand Ralik Sandford, great-grands.

During one of her recent hospital stays, she remarked to a nurse, Ive had a good life. Her family affirms this, and while her presence will be sorely missed, we celebrate that this wonderful, Christian woman is now free from the burdens of lifebeing consoled that while she is absent from the body; she is present with the Lord.