Brian James Coleman

GILBERT, Ariz. — Brian James Coleman, 38, passed away Oct. 30, 2018, in Gilbert, Ariz., after a battle with cancer.

Brian was born June 28, 1980, in Wilkes-Barre to Diane Dukas Coleman and Charles Coleman. He was an Eagle Scout who graduated from Northwest High School. At the time of his death, he worked for Concentrix in Phoenix, Ariz., as a QA Tech Advisor.

In high school, he excelled in theatre arts and performed roles in "Macbeth" at both Wilkes College and the Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble. After graduation, he became heavily involved with the "Gravestone Manor" haunted house in Wilkes-Barre, which inspired his sadly unfulfilled dream of someday operating his own haunted house.

Eventually, he moved on to Denver, Colo., where he was involved with the "13th Floor" haunted house, as well as acting, modeling, video production and voice acting (where he was well-known for his incredibly realistic impersonation of a crying baby).

He followed his future wife, Kayla, from Denver to Phoenix, where he continued his acting and video production activities and added puppetry to his repertoire. While in Phoenix, he and Kayla created reaction videos to K-Pop music, uploaded them to their YouTube channel and enjoyed a mild international following.

His hobbies were skiing, camping, hiking, photography, long road trips and paranormal activities, including ghost hunting.

He also enjoyed all kinds of music, from easy listening (Trans Siberian Orchestra and Lindsey Stirling) to hard rock (Motionless in White, Sum 41 and Blink 182) to K-pop (Girls' Generation and BTS). He also enjoyed the films of Jim Henson (especially "Labyrinth") and cartoons, where his favorite characters included Tigger and Scooby Doo.

Brian was preceded in death by his grandfather, Louis J. Dukas; grandparents Mary and Charles Coleman; and uncle Sean Coleman.

He is survived by his wife, Kayla Coleman; his parents; his brother, Charlie (Danielle) Coleman; nieces Chelsea and Katelyn; grandmother Helen Dukas; and aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as friends.

His family wishes to thank everyone for the kind words that have been communicated to us since his passing. Memorial services will be at the discretion of the family. If desired, donations may be made to Hospice of the Valley, Lund Home, 1982 E. Woodside Court, Gilbert, AZ 85297.

Brian always had a smile on his face and a helping hand for everyone. We'd like to imagine that when he left this world, he was still wearing that smile and extending that hand, while simultaneously skating off into the sunset on his Heelys.