James Carey Coleman

James Carey Coleman Jr. was born in Mineral, Va., on Feb. 02, 1926, to James Carey Coleman and Edna Kennon Coleman. He died June 2, 2020. JC graduated from Henry Clay High School and attended the University of Richmond, becoming a lifelong Spiders fan. He was a charter member of the Hanover Volunteer Fire Department. In 1949, he eloped with the love of his life, Anne Cosby Hanback, now deceased, and together they raised four children in their Mechanicsville home. Blind all of his adult life, JC worked in food service through Business Opportunities for the Blind, starting out at Union Station in Alexandria before moving on to manage the lunch counter at Union Envelope Co. and the cafeteria at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. In a nod to his food service career, his ham radio handle was WD4-HDV (Hot Dog Vendor), as he made friends around the world, and even into space, through the radio waves. He spent many weekends and summers by the Chesapeake Bay, sailing, sunning and steaming crabs. He loved music and reading and electronic gadgets. He was an active parishioner of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Hanover from the 1930s until he died, serving on the vestry and as stewardship chairman more than once. In retirement, he became the first blind director on the board of Business Opportunities for the Blind. He championed a better life for the visually impaired citizens of Virginia and was a strong advocate for the passage of the Randolph Sheppard Act, which funded benefits for blind workers. Throughout his life, JC valued, and demonstrated, integrity, perseverance, and humor. The Coleman household, where JC perfected his hospitality and joke-telling, was a hub of family and social activity.

He is survived by his children Brooke Taylor (Bob), Carey Coleman (Kathy Northington), Beth Allen (John) and Ellen Coleman (Rhonda Graves); his grandchildren Leigh Sewell (Nate), Polly Roberts (Hunter), Travis Coleman (Susan) and John Allen III (Quinn); his great-grandchildren Taylor and Sydney Bernard, Ruby and Olivia Sewell, Coleman and Case Roberts, Isaac Coleman, and Henry and Sloane Allen; his brother and sister-in-law Tommy and Charlene Coleman, his sisters-in-law Mary Anna Hanback and Pat G. Hanback; and many nieces and nephews. The family gives special thanks to the staff on Wing 4 at Westport Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and to the caregivers at Memorial Regional Medical Center.

As the familiar hymn says, He once was blind, but now he sees.

Donations in JC’s memory may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 441, Hanover, VA 23069. A memorial service will be held at a future time. To send condolences online please visit obituaries.tharpfuneralhome.com. Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory Bedford is assisting the family.