Katie Mae Coleman

On Tuesday, August 14, 2018, a much-loved mother, sister, aunt, friend and matriarch of our Kentucky family, Katie Coleman, passed away peacefully in Bowie, Maryland.  She was born to the late Guy and Alice Arnold on December 20, 1927, in Lexington, Kentucky.  She was the beloved wife of the late Willie Coleman; devoted mother to twin daughters, Brenda and Linda, and cherished grandmother to granddaughter, Torri.

Katie, affectionately known as “Ms. Katie” to many friends and  family alike,  “Nammy” (Torri started calling  her  this as a toddler) to her  granddaughter and  goddaughter, “Granny” to her  grandsons, and  “Mommy” to her  twins, loved  life, always had  a great smile and  kind  words  to offer,  a welcoming personality, and  an  indelible spirit.   She met her late husband, Willie, on the Grand Central Railroad and he was immediately smitten with her charm, beauty, and whit.   He romantically pursued her and then proposed.  They were married in Elkton, Maryland on April 14, 1954, and were blessed with the birth of Brenda and Linda.   Thereafter, they relocated to the Bronx, New York; and, in later years, they moved to Co-Op City, the largest residential cooperative housing development in the world where her sweet spirit garnered many life-long friends. Katie was serious about exposing her girls to the best that life could offer in the inner-city.   She took them on the annual trek to Radio City Music Hall every Christmas to see the show and the Rockettes while standing in the freezing cold.  She dressed the twins up in their Sunday best and took them to restaurants like Patricia Murphy’s in Manhattan.   She taught them how to eat artichokes and corn on the cob with a fork just in case they had to go to a formal dinner. She was religious about setting a table correctly at holiday times and always pulled out the silverware and polished each piece by hand.   These were the kinds of things that she insisted on us learning!   She was our B. Smith of the Bronx!