Helga Coleman

Helga Coleman was born October 23, 1936 in Köslin Germany and lived a happy, healthy and
independent life for 84 years until contracting Covid and passing away September 28, 2021. Helga had
an idyllic first 6 years of childhood living on the edge of the Baltic Sea in Köslin, a fishing village. The
remainder of her childhood was spent surviving war torn Germany. Helga interned as a pharmacist tech
in beautiful Berchtesgaden and it was during this time that she met her beloved Jim, an airman in the
U.S. Air Force who would whisk her off to America for a lifetime of adventure together. It was
completely meant to be, as her American GI happened to have been raised in Germany and spoke fluent
German.
Jim and Helga married in Germany, honeymooned in Paris and later moved to Philadelphia where they
had their first child Mark, moved to Florida a year later and had Susan, and moved to California a year
later and had Patty. Jim worked for 30 years in aerospace and Helga was a supportive aerospace wife
and great homemaker. She rose early and packed Jim lunch every day before sending him off with a
kiss, and then did the same for her 3 kids. Helga loved Jim’s work stories and fully embraced his career,
highlights of which were an assignment in Ft Walton Beach, FL where the family lived right on the beach,
attending the Paris Air Show with Jim in the 80’s, and attending so many parties and events with Jims
test flight family.
As the kids grew older, Helga worked part time as a hostess in the Coffee Shop at the Ramada Inn, and
later as a hostess for many years at the Golden Corral. She used her salary to take the family on several
trips to overseas, where she exposed her kids to Germany and other parts of Europe, showing them all
the wonderful architecture, food, churches, castles, and culture that she grew up with.
One of Helga’s proudest moments was when, after months of studying hard, she finally became a Citizen
of the United States of America. She made a large donation to the Statue of Liberty Restoration, and
she soaked up every ounce of Americana, especially Rodeo. Her love of rodeo is why we all love it
today.
Helga loved to travel and would educate herself on every place she ever planned to visit. She loved
soaking up the culture, food, markets, and loved talking to the natives. Jim and Helga traveled quite a
bit and loved cruising to Hawaii, Alaska, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, and Tahiti (their favorite).
After 40years of marriage, Jim passed in 2000, and Helga focused on her kids and grandkids, and
continued to travel with them.
Helga had a legendary green thumb and her backyard in its heyday was an oasis to behold. She could
take a plant that the nursery was throwing out and always bring it back to its full glory. To this day, her
backyard contains some of those same plants. Helga’s culinary skills where phenomenal as well and her
everyday meals were worthy of a Michelin star. There was always a plate of cookies whether she knew
you were coming or not. Helga had a love of photography and making home movies and we feel
blessed to have had a mother who captured so much of our childhood, especially when it wasn’t as
common as it is today.
Helga was truly a fantastic hostess, and threw many holiday parties and get togethers throughout the
years. She made every holiday feel so special with her decorations and charming table settings. She
dearly enjoyed her coffee klatches with her German friends especially Christa, Trudy, and Rosemary.
She loved dancing with her Jim and was a member of the Triple S dance club in Lancaster for many
years. Jim and Helga loved to explore and took many trips “down below” to L.A. for fun and adventure
throughout the years, especially when the kids were growing up. Alpine Village and Redondo beach
were favorites. Helga was always up for doing something fun like jaunts to Hollywood, concerts, taking
Paint and Sip classes, working on Rose Parade floats, snorkeling in Tahiti, a Jeep ride up the side of Bora
Bora, or Flamenco dancing in an underground cave in Mallorca.
Her love of reading and educating herself is evident with one look at her overstuffed bookshelves.
Biographies were her favorite and she always had interesting facts about people she had just read
about. Enamored with the Royal Families of Europe, she loved reading Hello magazine and her beloved
German magazine Bunte. She loved to pour over the newspaper at breakfast and was also a stock
market enthusiast, never missing her morning Bloomberg show. She could make a day out of a
stockholder meeting in Beverly Hills with her grandson Kenny, afterwards lunching at Spagos, a trip to
her favorite Beverly Hills cheese shop, Nordstrom's and finally cruising by the stars’ homes just for fun.
They truly loved hanging out together.
Helga loved having fun and laughing and if you ever went to a movie with her, that distinctive laugh is
something you can't forget. She loved magic and comedy, especially the live shows in Las Vegas and on
cruises.
Helga was selfless and very giving of her time. She raised several grandchildren, watching them while
their parents worked. She also did charity work for the American Heart Association, worked soup
kitchens for the homeless, and helped make Braille books for the blind.
Helga is survived by her three children Mark Coleman, Susan Francis, and Patty Gibson, her eight
grandchildren Chelsea, Kenny, Jay, Alexis, Cameron, Brittany, Dustin, and Tessa, and one great
grandchild, James D Coleman. She was one of a kind, our rock, our glue, our beloved Mom and Omi.
We are heartbroken and everything about her will be greatly missed.