Obituary – Debra Lynn Coleman
Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Debra Lynn Coleman, of Lewisville, Forsyth County, N.C., passed away peacefully on August 2, 2025, at Novant Health Center, Winston-Salem, N.C. She was born on March 23, 1953, in Asheville, Buncombe County, N.C., to Col. Harold Loyd Coleman and Hazel Burris Coleman (both deceased).
Debra was a graduate of West Forsyth High School, Class of 1971. She attended High Point College, in High Point, N.C. She worked at H.L. Coleman, Inc., for her parents, who were owners of franchises for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wendy's Hamburgers in Forsyth, Surry and Stokes counties, in North Carolina, from 1970 through the 1980s. After her parents sold their franchises, Debra loved spending time on the family farm, Shadow Oaks, in Clemmons, N.C., with her Tennessee walking horses, the cows and her pets. She was a member of the National Tennessee Walking Horse Association. She showed her horses and won numerous world championships in Shelbyville, Tennessee, for fifty years until her stroke in November 2013. Debra was a member of Fairview Moravian Church, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Debra is survived by her sister, Dianne Wall Coleman, of Winston-Salem, N.C.; her nieces: Amy Yarbrough Reilly, of Lewisville, N.C.; Laura Christine Coleman, of Clemmons, N.C.; Anastasia Coleman Sangster, of San Diego, California, and Stephanie Wall Boswell, of Walnut Cove, N.C.; her nephew, Richard Yarbrough, of Kernersville, N.C.; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her brother, Edward Scott Wall Coleman, of Little River, S.C.
The family will receive friends from 12:30 to 1:30 pm Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at Hayworth-Miller Kinderton Chapel in Advance, NC. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 pm Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at Westlawn Gardens of Memory in Clemmons, N.C., with Pastor Tony Hayworth, of Fairview Moravian Church, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, Debra has asked to please make donations to Shriners' Hospitals for Children, 2900 North Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, Florida 33607.
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