By Serena Markstrom
Oregon Daily Emerald
When they first met, they had to
pay a toll to see each other.
Dr. Edwin Coleman, University
professor emeritus and wife-to-be
Charmaine Thompson started dating
after a wedding in the late 1950s,
when she lived in Berkeley, Calif.,
and he lived in San Francisco." What
was the interesting thing about her
was that she had the greatest smile,”
Dr. Coleman said of Mrs. Coleman, as
she broke into what must have been
the billionth smile for him.
Between the San Francisco Bay
Bridge and the telephone line, they
engaged in a year-and-a-half long
courtship. When he asked, she said
yes; they got married in a traditional
Catholic ceremony, had two children
and built a life together.
That’s the story. It’s pretty simple.
Yet this is a story that is eluding
the biographies of most Americans
today. What makes the marriages
that do last?
For Dr. and Mrs. Coleman, it was
the simple and proven ingredients:
love, trust and commitment.
“Too many women, I think, don’t
have a deep commitment to being
what God put us on Earth to do,”
Mrs. Coleman said. “I still basically
believe that women are the nurtur
ers.”
Mrs. Coleman managed to nur
ture her two sons, Callan, 32, and
Edwin IE, 37, and have a 20-year ca
reer as a teacher.
Before she got her career started,
she supported Dr. Coleman as he
built a foundation for his. They
moved from California to Eugene in
the late 1960s so he could pursue a
doctorate in theater at the Universi
ty
They lived in student housing, an
environment that both Colemans
Turn to Coleman, page 4B
Love in any
Language:
From arranged marriages to
timeless superstitions;
approaches to weddings
vary globally and locally
PAGE 2B
I Do’s & Don’ts
Make that special day
even more memorable
with personal touches.
PAGE 5B