Bettye J. (Sparrow) Coleman

Bettye J. (Sparrow) Coleman, 82, formerly of Evansville, joined her husband in the presence of the Lord on Friday, Nov. 4, 2005, in Grand Bay near Mobile, Ala.

Bettye was born on Sept. 14, 1924, in Evansville, Ind., to Chris "Doc" and Mabel (Phillips) Sparrow. She attended Bosse High School and spent a lot of her free time at the roller skating rink on Highway 41 South. It was at the skating rink that she met the man she would be married to for 54 years, Homer Fredrick Coleman. Bettye and Homer always welcomed their friends and their children's friends into their homes. They were a Navy family. So many of the people that they entertained and fed were sailors, who were far away from home. They could always be counted on to provide warmth and a smile to the boys.

Bettye was preceded in death by her husband, Homer, on March 26, 1997; by her parents; and by her brother, Raymond Sparrow and his wife, Nellie.

Surviving are her sons, Ronald Gene Coleman and his wife, Pat, of Grand Bay, Ala., and Larry Putnam and his wife, Bonnie, of Denton, Texas; her daughter, Nancy Jo (Coleman) Goff and her husband, Marvin, of Chickasaw, Ala.; her stepson, Freddie Coleman of Owensboro, Ky.; her sister, Thelma Coleman and her husband, John, of Evansville; her niece, Joyce Fields and her husband, Kenny, of Evansville; seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005, at Miller & Miller Colonial Chapel, Franklin & Heidelbach, the Rev. Mike Belt officiating. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to service time Thursday at Miller & Miller Colonial Chapel.

Bettye's family is very grateful for the years that they have gotten to spend living near her and getting to be with her. She will be missed.