William (Kyle) Coltman passed away peacefully in his home with family by his side on June 15, 2013 in Cathedral City, Calif. Kyle's journey began on April 28, 1927 where he was born to William Pethic and Lucy (Betty) Coltman in Mukden, Manchuria. He and his younger sister, Shirley, lived many of their formative years in Nanking and Tientzin, China. At age thirteen, Kyle went off to boarding school in Tongzhou outside of Beijing. In 1940, due to the impending war, the family was evacuated by the U.S. government where they settled in Washington, D.C. He and Shirley were soon enrolled at the private school, Sidwell Friends, in Washington, D.C. After receiving his high school education from Woodberry Forest in Virginia, Kyle enlisted in the Navy and later went on to receive his undergraduate degree from Columbia University. In 1947, he became the 3rd generation to join Standard Vacuum Oil Company in New York City where he met and fell in love with Viola Johnsen. After their brief engagement, Kyle was assigned to Calcutta, India where they were married in 1951. They spent nine years in India and Pakistan raising their three children: Hilary, Kyle, Jr., and Scott. The family then returned to the U.S. where Kyle received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. The family moved to California in 1961 and had their fourth child, Lucy, and moved to Palo Alto a year later. The family remained in the Bay Area for the next 16 years while Kyle worked in Management Consulting. Kyle, Viola and Lucy moved to the desert in 1978 to join his brother-in-law in the real estate business where they successfully developed The Springs and Morningside communities. Kyle's passion to travel the world provided him with many rich memories and wonderful stories that he loved to share. He visited 72 countries and only his recent illness prevented him from realizing plans to go to Mongolia and Antarctica. His curiosity, humor, gentle spirit, strong character, integrity, and ethical nature will be a lasting legacy to his sister; four children; nieces and nephews: Craig & Barbara Johnsen, Jaymi Crook and Sarah Marshall; grandchildren: Alex, Chase and Lauren; loving companion, Betty, and his several close friends.




Published in The Desert Sun from June 21 to June 23, 2013