Thelma Josephine Coleman -- Dedicated Teacher

 

Thelma Josephine Coleman was born on May 28, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio, the first of two children of Albert Milton Coleman and Ethel Hodson Coleman.  Her father had been born in Graves County Kentucky and her mother was a native of Stockport, Cheshire, England who had migrated to the United States in 1922, settled in Ohio, and was naturalized as an American citizen in 1928.

Thelma grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Fairview Park High School in 1944.  She went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio where she graduated in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. The following year in 1949, Thelma married Anthony John Peterle, who was her high school sweetheart.  They eventually shared 58 years of marriage living the majority of their lives on the bank of the Scioto River in Delaware County, Ohio.

Thelma showed a high degree of skill as an educator who dedicated her life to teaching.  She and Tony settled in Delaware, Ohio, where Thelma began teaching Kindergarten in the Buckeye Valley School district, She became the recipient of the prestigious Martha Holden Jennings Award which is awarded by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation to honor outstanding classroom educators in line with the foundation’s major objective of improving the quality of primary and secondary education in Ohio.  Thelma’s life centered on children of all ages within the community. She took delight in crossing paths with many generations of her former students.

Thelma was a community steward and devoted volunteer. Over the years she choreographed the Buckeye Valley High School musicals.  She worked at the guilds at the Grady Memorial Hospital and the United Way and the Arts Castle.  She was chairperson of the Delaware Area Recovery Resources and the alumni representative for the College of Wooster. She was involved with the Central Ohio Symphony and the Delaware County Library Board.  In 1992 she was named the Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year.

Through all her activities, she also made time for her weekly water aerobic and Jazzercise session, where she became known at the “gummy bear lady”.  Always with an adventurous spirit, she and her husband traveled extensively around the world following their retirement.  Thelma was an avid reader and in her own words, she enjoyed a “super” life.

Thelma and Tony had two children, a daughter, Ann Peterle who was born on February 19, 1956 and a son, Tony Scott Peterle, who was born on March 13, 1959.

Thelma died at the age of 81 on Sunday morning, November 18, 2007 at the Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio from complications following surgery.  She was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware, Ohio.  Her husband, Tony died on November 15, 2011 and was buried beside her.

LINEAGE:  (Thelma Josephine Coleman was the daughter of Albert Milton and Ethel Hodson Coleman, granddaughter of Bluford Boyd and Frances Carman Coleman and great-granddaughter of Albert Thomas and Rhoda Josephine Lancaster Coleman.  Albert was the Alfred Boyd and Alpha Thomas Coleman.  Alpha was the second child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Elizabeth was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)