Obituaries : Sophia Ann Coleman; Presidential Award Winner

Sophia Ann Coleman, whose long career took her from a World War II tank production line to a company making parts for NASA’s lunar landers, died Friday. Mrs. Coleman, an Oxnard resident, was 78.

She was born in Saginaw, Mich., the daughter of Austrian immigrants, and grew up on a farm.

Most of her working life was spent in technical trades. During World War II, she received a presidential award for her efforts on a tank production line.

After the war, she lived for five years in Germany with her husband, Robert Coleman. They returned to the United States with their three sons in 1958, settling a year later in Ventura County.

Sophia Coleman got a job with a company in Newbury Park making electronic components for NASA’s Gemini and Apollo spacecraft.

“I remember her bringing stuff home and showing us what it was, how it had to be wound under a microscope,” said son Randolph W. Coleman of Oxnard. He watched mankind’s first manned landing on the moon realizing his mother had made some of the spaceship’s parts.

“We sat and watched that stuff till it came out our ears,” he said.

She accomplished these things without the benefit of a formal education, Randolph Coleman said. She finally earned her high school degree in 1971.

Her final job was with the 3M company’s Camarillo division, where she worked as an electronics technician. She retired in 1983.

Other survivors include sons Michael F. Coleman of Camarillo and Orin C. Coleman of Squaw Valley. Her husband died in 1973.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 3. Arrangements are under the direction of the James A. Reardon Mortuary in Oxnard.

Cadena, Carmen Marquez, 58, of Santa Paula, homemaker. Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary, Santa Paula.

Jamison, Margaret H., 89, of Ventura, retired medical lab technician. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Jefferson, William Edward, 66, of Oxnard, retired construction worker. Garcia Mortuary, Oxnard.

Madrigal, Baudelia M., 75, of Oxnard, homemaker. Garcia Mortuary, Oxnard.

Mendoza, Carolyn, 43, of Camarillo, hospital technician. James A. Reardon Mortuary, Oxnard.

Rosales, Agustin Ramirez, 75, of Oxnard, retired farm worker. Garcia Mortuary, Oxnard.

Segura, Alfred A., 34, of Camarillo, hairstylist. Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home, Ventura.

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