Peter James Coleman

Peter James Coleman died peacefully at his home on March 11, 2026, surrounded by three of his children.

Born in Morris, Minnesota, in 1941 to Dorothy and Peter Coleman, Peter was the oldest of six children. After the family moved to Tacoma, Washington, his parents opened a bakery where he worked throughout his teenage years, earning his way through college and medical school. While in medical school he met the love of his life, Sue Manussier, and they married in 1968. Before their marriage they placed their first child, Susan, for adoption; when she turned 21 they reconnected and remained close for the rest of their lives.

During the Vietnam War, Peter and Sue lived in Taiwan, where their first son was born while Peter served at an Air Force base. Two years later they returned to Baltimore, Maryland, where Peter completed his residency in Child Psychiatry. There the couple welcomed two daughters and another son. The family lived in Baltimore for seventeen years while Peter served as Medical Director of the North Baltimore Center and maintained a private practice in Child Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis.

In 1988 the family moved to Upperco, Maryland, where Peter bought Sue the hobby farm she cherished, complete with goats and alpacas. He continued his work as medical director at Woodbourne Residential Treatment Center and the Board of Childcare, both inpatient facilities for troubled youth, while keeping his private practice with adults and children. A lifelong do-it-yourselfer, he spent weekends and summers tending the old farmhouse and mending pasture fences. After losing Sue in 2004, Peter remained faithful to her memory, baking the cinnamon rolls of his youth and caring for her garden and yard, which became a beloved gathering place where two of his daughters later married. For the last four years of his life he lived in Rumney, New Hampshire, near his youngest child, Robin, enjoying time with his grandchildren and his dog Maya.

Peter is survived by the four children he and Sue loved, raised, and supported: Steven Coleman (Alex Coleman), Karen Coleman (Rafael Narvaez), Thomas Coleman, and Robin Goldstein (David Goldstein). He is also survived by Susan Davis-Brown and fifteen grandchildren.