Sonny Coleman

SACATON — Robert “Sonny” Coleman Jr., 79, of Sacaton died on Sept. 15, 2010, at home.
Visitation will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday at the District 4 Service Center. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Chandler Community Center, with the Rev. Bruce Hood officiating. Burial will be in Stotonic Cemetery.
Mr. Coleman was born on Nov. 6, 1930, in Okmulgee, Okla., to Robert Coleman Sr. and Sammie Lee Rhodes. He grew up and attended school there. In 1946 his father brought him and his brothers and sisters to Arizona to pick cotton. The family first lived in Lone Butte, where he met his first wife of 37 years, Sarah Mills. He was proud that he could pick 600 to 700 pounds and “leave the sun hanging.”
He was drafted into the Army. He later would say he still had his “trigger finger from the Korean War.” He returned to Arizona and settled in Chandler. He developed a lifelong passion for farming and was a Christian. He met Reed Kirby and had a long friendship that started as an employer-employee relationship.
Survivors include 10 sons, Tristan Coleman of Bapchule, Robert Maurice Coleman of Gilbert, Ryan and Bryant Thomas of Chandler, Richard Coleman of Mesa, Lloyd and Joe Coleman of Gilbert, Jimmie L. and Eddie L. Coleman of Chandler and Charlie R. Coleman of Fresno, Calif.; nine daughters, Kyshonda Coleman of Mesa, Renisha Coleman of Sacaton, Oliva Woods of North Carolina, Carla Katon of Queen Creek, Tarsha Hardy of Chandler, Charline Coleman and Opaline Coleman of Chandler, Jeroldine Carlson of Glendale and Ruth Ann Coleman of Chandler; seven brothers and sisters, Lula Mae Wilson of Okmulgee, Opaline Mills of Chandler, Evaline Williams of Wichita, Kan., Sam H. Coleman of Chandler, Ora B. Barnes, Myra M. Ferrying and James Coleman, all of Tulsa, Okla.; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wives, Jane C. and Sara; a son, Roy L. Coleman; a daughter, Sharon Coleman; and a sister, Valmo Coleman.
J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel is in charge of arrangements.