Tom Coleman papers, 1916-1988

Collection

Identifier: MSS-Miss-1-2020

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Judy Coleman Peterson donated materials found interleaved in the Lewis Eric Coleman bible in 2020, including newspaper clippings and handwritten notes in Swedish.

Robert Schenck, previous medical missionary in Ethiopia, donated the second series of this collection in 2020. This includes a DVD about Tom Coleman's life, as well as three poems written by Coleman. Included is also a recording of the English translation of "On the Death Trail," currently published as "The Unrevealed Memoir-A True Story" by Harald Nystrom. The book recall's Nystrom's experiences during the Italian-Ethiopian War.

Series three was donated by Jonathan Larson in 2021. It contains several publications and pamphlets owned by the Colemans.

The Flash drive photographs came from Kent Gerber in 2023. The photographs are of Addis Ababa, Ambo Hospital, Bekogi, the BGC Field Councils, and Gendeberet.

Dates

1916 - 1988

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use.

Biographical Note

Thomas Paul Coleman was born April 24, 1922 in Spring Vale, Minnesota. In 1944, he joined the Navy. He graduated from Bethel College in 1948, and as an M.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1953. With his wife, Elaine Westlund, whom he married in 1954, he had three children: Judith Arlene Peterson, William James, and Eric Donald. He became a medical missionary to Ethiopia affiliated with the Baptist General Conference throughout the 1950s to the 1970s. Between 1987 and 2002, he volunteered in several medical missions under the Cameroon Baptist Convention. In 1972, he was awarded Bethel's Alumnus of the Year. He died October 21, 2020.