Grantham pays tribute to music man Roy Coleman
A former chairman of the Grantham Operatic Society has died, aged 69.
Roy Coleman was part of the operatic society for more than 20 years, and was loved by many in the town.
He was husband to Sue and father to twins Hannah and James.
Born in Hammersmith, he was originally a maths teacher in Essex and Hampshire, where he lived until he married Sue. He then moved into industry, working for P&O Containers.
Roy moved to the area with his wife, initially living in Newark before moving to Grantham 29 years ago.
Despite moving north, Roy continued working for P&O, commuting on the train to London.
He was even a popular figure on the train, organising a Christmas party every year for the commuters to enjoy.
After being made redundant, Roy got back into teaching maths and taught at Grantham College.
Sue, his wife of 34 years, spoke of his love for teaching and how many parents of ex-students had reached out to her to offer their condolences since he died.
“He was obviously extremely well-loved,” she said. “I’ve received 70 cards so far and the number of messages on Facebook must be well over a hundred.
“I’ve had some wonderful messages and I don’t know how I can say thank you to them all.
“He was taken ill two-and-a-half years ago, when they gave him three weeks to live. We’ve done quite a lot in that time.”
She added: “We had two lovely kids whom he was very proud of.”
Sue has also received flowers from Bristol Operatic Society, where daughter Hannah has been for 10 years.
Despite being far away, Roy was involved with the society, who “thought the world of him”.
Sue continued: “The operatic society was a very big part of his life. He was also in Grantham Singers, but his real love was the operatics.”
The Grantham Operatic Society paid tribute to their late chairman. In a statement, they said: “Roy Coleman joined Grantham Operatic Society in 1995.
“His children James and Hannah joined in 2000, followed by his wife Sue in 2002, and he and his family have played a significant part in the success and survival of the society over the last few years.
“Roy had a great love and knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and performed in and directed many of their productions with the society, alongside other shows such as ‘Sweeney Todd’, ‘La Vie Parisienne’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.
“Roy was chairman of the society for over 10 years and during this time took the society from strength to strength. Roy and Sue welcomed us into their home for rehearsals, committee meetings and fund-raising barbecues.
“Their garden shed was a store for props, sets and costumes for both the operatic society and other musical groups within the town.
“One of Roy’s greatest achievements was to encourage younger members into the society and give them opportunities to perform.
“He was supportive of the Grantham Youth Theatre and many of their past members are now active members of the operatic society, while others have gone on to make drama and music their chosen
careers.
“He retired as chairman due to ill health, but continued to take an interest in what we were doing, coming to rehearsals as often as he could.
“Roy and Sue were made life members of the society in recognition of their significant contribution.
“Roy was an inspiration to us all and will be greatly missed by the society.”
