Ronald J. Coleman was born on April 14, 1929, in Spring City, Utah, to John Henry and Olive Allred Coleman. He passed away of natural causes in American Fork, Utah, in the home of his daughter, Cori, on March 2, 2026, at the age of 96.

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He married Luana Holman in 1950 and they had five children together. Later divorced. In 1981, he married Karen Jacobs, instantly adding a similar set of five stepchildren and their growing families to his life.

Ron was the youngest of five children and the first person in his family to graduate from college. He wanted a better life because they had no indoor plumbing while he was growing up and, as a teenager, he only had 1 pair of overalls, 2 pairs of socks, and 1 pair of shoes. He milked cows in the morning, and the family traded milk with neighbors to get hay for their cows. Many days, he ate potatoes, a slice of bread, and some milk with a little sugar in it. He walked almost everywhere he went. He didn’t have a bicycle until he was a junior in high school.

During the summer after high school, he went to work at Kennecott Copper in Bingham Canyon, Utah. He then attended Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, focusing on accounting. Because money was scarce, he also took a cooking class so he would be able to eat lunch there. He was on the student council and was voted in as “yell master” on the cheerleading squad his sophomore year.

The next summer, he hitchhiked with a friend to McGill, Nevada, to again work for Kennecott, but at their mine facility there. He lived in employee barracks for the summer and also bought his first car there, a 1929 Model A, which he later drove back to Snow College.

When he graduated from Snow, he went back to work for Kennecott in McGill, where he then met Luana in 1949. He was drafted into the Army while living there, due to the Korean War, and Ron and Luana decided to get married before heading off to military duty. Ron’s father passed away in 1950 and his mother, newly widowed, went with them. They drove to Kansas in a Chevy Ron purchased.

He was stationed in Ft. Riley, near Manhattan, Kansas. In 1951, they there endured a major flood, which covered their entire area of town with six-foot-deep water and ruined his car. After surviving that and completing his military experience, they went back to Utah for more school.

“BYU by 7!”

When he got into Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, he took a stock market class and picked the name “Burroughs” as a stock to follow. He said the reason was because the CEO’s last name was Coleman (no relation). He earned money for school by working as a night clerk for a motel. During the summer, he also sold cars during the day.

After graduating from BYU, he decided to apply at Burroughs in Salt Lake City, Utah, was hired immediately, and stayed with them for 31 years. Many of those years, he was in the President’s Club, due to his exceptional sales ability, and he was rewarded with trips to exotic locations. Beginning in the late 1990s, after retiring and moving south, he sold real estate in St. George, Utah, for many years and he received multiple sales awards.

He lived in the Horizons West community in Washington, Utah, and served on their Board, including a few years as Board President.

He was a true-blue lifetime BYU fan, loved watching BYU football with his beloved Shih Tzu, Buddy, by his side, and his car license plate proudly declared BYU BY 7. 

Throughout the years, Ron loved to buy and sell vehicles, many from the Salt Lake Auto Auction. A few of his favorites were a white VW Bug, a Ford Ranger pickup truck, a Mustang Fastback, and a Datsun 280ZX. He also drove a limousine for a few years and met several celebrities while shuttling them to places like Park City, Utah.

The family always joked that Ron knew someone everywhere he went. This was proven true on countless occasions, including: in Alaska, inside a small-town 7-11 near where the family’s truck and camper had a flat tire on the Ohio Turnpike on their summer vacation, on a beach in Mexico – and even inside Tokyo Tower while visiting Japan!

He was known for his amazing storytelling and his jokes. He loved to make people laugh throughout his life, and people gathered around him all the time because of this talent. While he was temporarily living for six months last year in Snow Canyon Retirement Community in Santa Clara, Utah, people were clamoring to sit with him at meals. He provided them with wonderful entertainment!

He loved driving to Mesquite, Nevada, at least a couple of times a month to eat buffet lunches and dinners and to spend a little relaxation time playing Keno.

Ron especially loved cheese curds, spaghetti, wonton soup, and coleslaw – as long as it was from KFC or Black Bear Diner – to be brought to him. The last five months of his life, if going out for a meal, he only wanted to eat at Feast Buffet in Orem. No exceptions!

Ron was preceded in death by his wife, Karen, his parents, and all four of his siblings, Mary, John Louis (Lou), Frank, and Eva, and one grandson, Matthew Smith.

Survivors are his children, Randy (Leona) Coleman, Salt Lake City, Utah; Sue (Lynn) Hoppie, Rancho Santa Margarita, California; Karen (Gaylun) Smith, Provo, Utah; Lisa (Clayton) Watkins, Highland, Utah; and Cori Matthews (Glen Stasinos), American Fork, Utah, as well as his five stepchildren: Bryan (Debra) Jacobs, Leslie (Tim) Broderick, Andrea (Bill) Sorrell, Lauren (Jeffrey) Dastrup, and Gina Jacobs, all in the St. George, Utah, area. 

Through his direct lineage, his life was blessed with 18 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. This is the Ron Coleman legacy.

A celebration of Ron’s life will be held for the family at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity. Thank you for all your love and friendship with Dad through the years. He will be missed beyond measure. 

We will always love you, Dad.