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Francis F. Coleman ’29

Francis F. Coleman ’29, March 10, 1996, in Athens, Georgia, where he had lived since 1990. He was the son of Reed president Norman Coleman [1912–19; 1934–39]. After graduating from Reed, he earned a master’s in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1931 and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, England, where he earned a PhD in 1934. He married Alice Cowan ’32 in 1934 and that same year joined the faculty of the physics department at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. He taught there for two years and at Bennington College in Vermont for three years, and he then took a position with the Texas Company Research Laboratory. In 1947, the couple moved again when he took a post with the Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego, where he worked until his retirement in 1974. He also taught physics at San Diego State College. In retirement, the couple enjoyed extensive travel and the companionship of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He is survived by his son, David C. Coleman ’60, a daughter, a sister, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Appeared in Reed magazine: August 1996

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