Earl Coleman passed away swiftly, peacefully, and painlessly on October 12, 2009. He was struck by a suspected pulmonary embolism while hospitalized for some routine tests. Just before his death he had joked with his wife Ellen, and spoken of the new short story he was writing in his head and planning to put on paper shortly.

In a private ceremony, Earl's ashes were scattered on a beach at Montauk, Long Island, a place with special significance for him and Ellen.

When he died he was a bit less than three months away from his 94th birthday, which his family and friends celebrated in a private gathering in New Jersey on Saturday, January 9, 2010.

The family welcomes contact from any friends and colleagues of Earl's. You can contact either Ellen Coleman or Allan Coleman. If you have memories of or stories about Earl, brief or lengthy, that you want to share, we'll post them here.

• For the New York Times obituary for Earl by William Grimes, published on November 14, 2009, click here.
• For Allan's December 26, 2009 post at his blog, Photocritic International, about Earl's impact on the field of photography, click here.
• For Earl's own synopsis of his life, written for this website, click here.
• Former student and environmental activist Dea Goblirsch has two posts about Earl's class at her blog, dea g. on coal river: "Tim Nicholas; Filmmaker, Half-decent human being," January 6, 2010, and "Earl’s Class," January 11, 2010.
• Former student and freelance entertainment writer Alyssa Marcus has a post about Earl's class at her blog, Alyssa's Clips: "A World Loss," January 13, 2010.

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