Cheryl Engles Coleman, MD

Cheryl Engles Coleman, M.D., age 64, Maryville, Tennessee

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139

On the morning of September 10, Cheryl Engles Coleman, M.D. was basking in the beauty of God’s creation while paddleboarding in the coral reefs of Rowley Shoals  off of the coast of western Australia when her earthen vessel failed. She laid her burden down only to be borne on eagle’s wings into the waiting arms of her Lord and Savior. Cheryl was born on July 31, 1958, in Nolensville, Tennessee, to Violet Tucker Engles Hindman and Edward Engles. Cheryl’s childhood was full of love and adventure. She took great delight spending weekends and summers with her grandparents at their farm in Giles County, Tennessee. At the age of twelve, Cheryl declared to her family and friends that she wanted to be a doctor and thereon set a course to make her dreams a reality. She consistently earned high honors as she pursued her education at Franklin High School, David Lipscomb University and East Tennessee State University J.H. Quillen College of Medicine. Upon completion of her residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Cheryl accepted a position at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, Tennessee, where, at the age of 27, she became the youngest anesthesiologist practicing in the state of Tennessee. Soon thereafter, she was admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Anesthesiologists. Cheryl embraced the community of Maryville, and all it offered in support of faith, family and profession. She quickly became a respected member of the medical community, and in the years to come she would serve as President of Maryville Anesthesiologists, President of Blount County Medical Society and Chief of the Medical Staff at Blount Memorial Hospital. After retiring from Maryville Anesthesiologists, she completed her professional career practicing at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, from which she retired on July 31, 2022. Cheryl’s unwavering faith saw her through great abundance and occasional adversity. Her love of family and friends was simply an extension of the love and grace instilled in her through her parents, the Church and God’s Word. Cheryl had a deep love and respect for First United Methodist Church of Maryville where she found a welcoming community for the expression of her faith and service. She served in numerous leadership positions over the years and found much support and affection among her brothers and sisters in the Challengers Sunday School Class. She was a supporter of the church’s mission program which provided her the opportunity to participate in two recent mission trips to Latvia. She was a Master Gardener who loved Saturday afternoons spent getting her hands dirty pulling weeds or tending to her rose bushes. Cheryl experienced some of her greatest joys while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. She was a proud two-time inductee of the 900 Mile Club which honors those who have hiked every mile of maintained trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Of course, she could be found on a daily basis walking her black Lab, Leila, around the neighborhood. She was an avid reader, and took delight in an evening spent with a good book and a glass of fine wine. She traveled extensively over the years, and had the good fortune to visit exotic locales on five continents. The greatest blessing of Cheryl’s life was the birth of her daughters Rachel and Ruthie (Hannah). Her love and affection towards her children found guidance in the Scripture “raise up a child in the way she should go: and when she is old, she will not depart from it.” She was particularly proud that her daughters followed her into a career as healthcare professionals. Cheryl was predeceased by her father Edward Engles, her grandparents Ozro and Lucille Tucker, her in-laws J. Paul and Jane Rogers Coleman and honorary family member Ruby Love who helped raise Rachel and Ruthie. Other than her daughters, Rachel Caroline Coleman and Hannah Ruth Coleman, Cheryl is survived by the father of her children, John Paul Coleman, her mother Violet Hindman, her brother Sam Engles, her sister Joyce Smithson (Ken), nieces Bonnie Mendez (Mike), Ginger White (Mike), Vickie Dudley (David), nephew Kiefer Engles and sisters-in-law Marti Coleman and Katherine Coleman Lundy and Katherine’s daughters Lara Lundy and Jennifer Lundy. The family wishes to extend a special word of thanks to Cheryl’s dear friends and travel companions Debbie and Don Richesin who were with Cheryl at her passing.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00pm, Sunday, September 25, 2022, at First United Methodist Church of Maryville, 804 Montvale Station Road, Maryville, Tennessee. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Maryville, the Foothills Land Conservancy, Friends of the Smokies or the charity of your choice. The Coleman family is being served by Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, 1402 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville, Tennessee.