SHELDON COLEMAN, 86, DIES - The Washington Post
WICHITA, KAN. -- Sheldon Coleman, 86, chairman of the family-controlled Coleman Co.
who spearheaded its diversification from making the famous Coleman
lantern to include air-conditioning equipment and outdoor gear, died of
pneumonia Sept. 21 at a hospital here. He had lupus, a vascular
Mr. Coleman joined the company in 1925 shortly after graduating from
Cornell University with a mechanical engineering degree. He had been the
company's leading force since the 1930s.
He found it financially troubled and transformed it into a huge
success. Last year, the publicly held company, which has more than 5,000
employees, had record sales of nearly $600 million. It sells products in
more than 100 nations and is traded on the American Stock Exchange.
The company was founded by his father, W.C. Coleman, in 1900 in
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Kingfisher, Okla., as a lighting-service business, leasing lamps and
servicing them. In 1901, the business moved to Wichita, where it began
producing lamps in 1905.
In 1914 it developed its famous Coleman lanterns, which lengthened
the farmer's day. The lantern was used in houses and as a portable
lantern. It used pressurized gas and delivered a steady and bright
In the 1920s, lamp and lantern production boomed. But the Coleman
family almost lost the company during the Great Depression.
Sheldon Coleman saw rural electrification coming and recommended the
company diversify by developing oil space heaters and gas floor furnaces
in the 1930s. It still produces heating and air-conditioning equipment,
including units for mobile homes and recreational vehicles.
During the 1960s, he led another diversification, expanding lantern
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and camp stove production into dozens of outdoor recreation products.
The company eventually became the world's largest manufacturer of such
Mr. Coleman was born in Fort Worth, and moved with his family to
Wichita when he was a month old. He worked in the Coleman factory while
in high school. After graduating from Cornell, he was a machinist in the
company plants in Toronto before returning to Wichita in 1928.
Working with his brother Clarence, now Coleman Co. vice chairman, he
developed the oil space heater and gas floor furnace, innovations that
helped carry the company through the Depression. During the 1940s, the
company developed a camp stove that GIs carried into combat.
By 1929, Mr. Coleman was functinoning as head of the company, though
he officially did not become chief executive officer until 1940. He was
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named president in 1951 and board chairman after his father died in
Mr. Coleman was active in a number of civic and professional
organizations, serving as vice chairman of the board of governors of the
American Red Cross and as a member of the National Council of the Boy
Scouts of America. He also was a member of President Reagan's Commission
on Americans Outdoors.
He was a recipient of the prestigious Mountain of Jade award from the
Outdoor Writers Association of America.
In addition to his brother, Mr. Coleman is survived by his wife,
Galey, a son, Sheldon C., who is company president and lives in Wichita;
two daughters, Virginia Coleman of Wichita and Carolyn Vickers of
Denver; three stepchildren; 14 grandchildren, and five
great-grandchildren.
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