George Rebane

My dear friend and one of Nevada County’s iconoclastic gentlemen and longtime community leaders Tom Coleman died last night in Reno of heart failure.  He was playing poker when he collapsed and was taken to the hospital where doctors did all they could, but were not able to save him.  Tom was the longest owner of the recently sold National Hotel in Nevada City, and was to be honored along with his partner Ms Ernie Kehn as the grand marshals of this year’s 4^th of July parade.

Tom was a stalwart and one of the original members of our long running dinner/poker group.  He always sat in his special chair at the octagon, dispensing his wit, wisdom, and stories of Nevada County, and he never let an opening betting round be passed without betting what became known as the ‘Coleman buck’ to get things started.  When it was Tom’s turn to host the dinner, he would order up a sumptuous meal from the hotel’s Hoover Restaurant that always featured a prominent hunk of beef with, of course, all the fixins and a collection of fine wines to lubricate the evening’s labors.

For years we were fellow Rotarians who met regularly at the National.  Tom was also an Elk, and his celebration of life will be held at the Nevada City lodge with date/time to be announced.  Funeral arrangements will be handled by Hooper and Weaver Mortuary.

Over the decades Tom served on many boards, panels, and community associations, always giving freely of his time, talents, and treasure.  He will be missed by his family and the uncountable friends he made as one our community’s most prominent and liked citizens.  We will miss him greatly.