Walter Coleman; Hospital Food Service Worker

Walter “Jelly” Coleman, a retired hospital food service worker, died July 14 at his Ventura home after a lengthy illness. He was 74.

Coleman was born Feb. 24, 1924, in Okmulgee, Okla.

A 36-year resident of this county, he worked at Ventura County Medical Center for more than 25 years.

In retirement, he played poker almost daily at the Avenue Adult Center, said his daughter, Annette Coleman.

Her father loved entertaining people with jokes and funny stories, especially those of his youth in Oklahoma, where somewhere along the way he acquired the nickname “Jelly” from his mother, she said.

“He had a great sense of humor. He loved people,” his daughter said.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; daughters Annette Coleman of Ventura, Shirley Bivens of San Jose and Cathy Coleman of Fresno; a son, Walter Coleman Jr. of Ventura; brothers, Sol Coleman Jr. of Kansas and William Coleman of Fresno; sisters Elizabeth Livingston of Ventura, Juanita Morrison of Fresno and Vera Greene of Ventura; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Visitation is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. today. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home Chapel in Ventura. Interment follows at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.

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Murphy, Ellen Frasco, 79, of Ventura, retired housekeeper at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Guardian Memorial Funeral Directors, Oxnard.

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Sanchez, Manuel, 85, of Oak Park, retired civil engineer. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks, Westlake Village.

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Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.