Dr. Thomas (Tom) George Coleman passed away peacefully on February 27th, 2021. He was born on September 9, 1940 in Rochester, New York. Tom is preceded in death by his parents Frank George Coleman and Margaret Glaser Coleman. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dr. Peggy Whittington Coleman, and his sons, Henry Tobias Coleman (Alice Windham Coleman), William Tyler Coleman, and Toby and Alice’s children, Elizabeth, Collins, and Thomas. Tom is also survived by his brothers James, Larry, Steve, their spouses, and a veritable plethora of nieces and nephews.
Tom graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1962. His unending quest for knowledge and more pleasant winter weather brought him south, where he earned a Masters in Electrical Engineering at Mississippi State University in 1964, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, which was the first joint degree awarded by the engineering school at Mississippi State University and the graduate school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1967. He received his post-doctoral training at the London Hospital Medical College, London, England.
Tom worked and taught at the University of Mississippi Medical Center his entire career. He enjoyed a long and distinguished tenure, which included over 150 publications in books, periodicals, and medical journals. His research has been referenced thousands of times by other scientists.
One of Tom’s early achievements was a complete mapping of the human cardiovascular system with his long time mentor and friend, Dr. Arthur C. Guyton. This achievement is memorialized in the halls of the main hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Tom is credited with writing the first complete human physiological simulation software and was a pioneer in computer based simulation.
Tom officially retired in 2013, but continued his contributions to the medical community until shortly before his death. His human physiology models live on in both educational and commercial applications.
In his spare time, Tom enjoyed traveling and visiting with his family. When he was younger, Tom was an avid sailor. He enjoyed the arts and actively helped with lighting in the early years of New Stage Theatre. Tom had a passion for all things mechanical and electrical. He had a tool for almost everything, and was always happy to loan them out to his neighbors and friends. He was a voracious reader of popular fiction and had a passion for watching all sports. Tom was funny, brilliant, and a kind-hearted gentleman.
Donations in memory of Tom Coleman can be made to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, “School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences Options.” A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
