Lasting Memories

Harold E. Coleman, M.D.
July 4, 1929-May 26, 2023
Palo Alto, California

Dr. Harold E. (Bud) Coleman died on May 26 at his home in Palo Alto. He was 93. He was born July 4, 1929, in Utica, New York, the younger son of Jacob and Ceil Smith Coleman. He attended Utica Free Academy and majored in history at Hamilton College (Class of 1950). In 1954, he earned an M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he was elected to the medical honorary society, Alpha Omega Alpha. From 1955 to 1957, he served in the United States Army Medical Corps, achieving the rank of captain. Following his military service, he returned to the University of Rochester for specialty training in anesthesiology.

In 1960, Dr. Coleman joined the anesthesia faculty at what was then known as the Palo Alto-Stanford Hospital. When El Camino Hospital was built in Mountain View, California, in 1963, he and several other anesthesiologists from Stanford founded the anesthesiology group at the new hospital. Of his professional accomplishments, he was proudest of two: first, pioneering the idea that round-the-clock anesthesiology coverage could be provided in a maternity unit, with particular emphasis on the relatively new technique of epidural anesthesia; second, his involvement in creating a new medical malpractice insurance company that insured El Camino Hospital and its medical staff together, as a response to the malpractice insurance crisis in California. He and his colleagues founded the company using their own personal funds as collateral, and he served on its board of directors. The company proved to be a model for others to follow.

Dr. Coleman practiced at El Camino until 1991. After retirement, he divided his time between his homes in Palo Alto and the Adirondacks, and traveled widely. He was a member of the Stanford Golf Club for more than 50 years, a longtime bridge player, and a sailor and windsurfer into his 70s.

Dr. Coleman is survived by his wife of nearly 68 years, Roxanne Kantor Coleman; their children, Claire Lauing (Ed) of Palo Alto, Beth Saltzman (Robert) of Redwood City, David (Gallit Schuller) of New York, and Alec (Anna Simos) of Half Moon Bay; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.