Biography: NanJo Corbitt (Dubé) Coleman, PhD, was the first of four children born to Francis and Lilla Mae Haskins Corbitt. She was born in Pearson, Georgia, on August 29, 1932 in the same house as her father in 1911 and lived there throughout her childhood.  She died peacefully in the extraordinary care of Arkansas Hospice on July 13, 2019, after living a long and full life with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

NanJo was named for her great-grandmother, Nancy Sirmans Corbett, and Dr. Joe Corbett, brother of her paternal grandmother, Mattie Lee Corbett Corbitt. NanJo was the last baby delivered by Dr. Joe Corbett.  NanJo was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, William Robert “Boy” Corbitt; her sister, Jane Corbitt Anderson Chaney; her husband, Martin L. “ML” Coleman, Jr., and her son, James “Jim” Carter Summerlin, Jr. 

Survivors include her daughter, Lynn Summerlin Bullard (Tony) of Maumelle, AR; son, Paul Corbitt (Jack Bailey) of Little Rock; 4 grandchildren, Jo Margaret Bennett (Jason) of Little Rock; Pat Morris “Trey” Biddy, III, (Mary Linda) of Fayetteville, AR;  Laura Biddy Frith (Drew) of Little Rock, and Suzanne Biddy Howard (Brad) of Little Rock; 7 great-grandchildren, Cate and Gage Bennett; Maggie and Andrew Frith; Annabelle Biddy; Wright and Wilkes Corbitt Howard (on the way); 1 sister, Donna Corbitt Grantham (Tony) of Douglas, GA, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

NanJo, well known for her intellect, athletic ability, her lovely voice and musical talent, graduated from Pearson High School in 1950 where she was a basketball star and valedictorian. Instead of accepting an offer to join the All-American Redheads Basketball Team, she began her college education at Brenau College (now University) for Women in Gainesville, GA. In 1952, she transferred to Asbury College (now University), a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, KY, where her aunt and uncle, Drs. Duvon and Bobbie (Roberta Day) Corbitt taught.  

NanJo and James Carter Summerlin, Sr., were married in 1952 at the Pearson Methodist Church.  They moved to Homerville, GA, where Carter was employed by the Empire Banking Company, and NanJo taught at Homerville Elementary. NanJo was active in the Homerville Methodist Church where she sang in the choir and served as church organist.  She also taught at Robbins Junior High School and served as the girls’ basketball coach and assistant principal. Later, she taught English at Clinch County High School and was recognized as one of the “Outstanding Young Women of America” before deciding to pursue advanced degrees. 

With distinguished honors, NanJo earned a Master of Education from Valdosta State College (now University) in 1968 and a PhD in English Linguistics from Florida State University in 1972. She received funding from the US Department of Education for her dissertation study, A Dialect Study: Some Systematic Phonological Variations from the Regional Standard in the Oral Language of Lower Socio-Economic Populations in the Rural Deep South, her first work published by the Center for Applied Linguistics.   She then moved to Arkansas to teach English and Linguistics at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. In 1974, she moved to North Little Rock, AR, where she taught English and Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock until 1995. NanJo received the Outstanding Teaching Award and the status of Full Professor at UALR.  She was involved in many professional groups such as Delta Kappa Gamma and Phi Delta Kappa. NanJo wrote an English textbook with Dr. Anthony Dubé, Structure and Meaning, and she assisted ML Coleman with his book on physics, The Elusive Eptron.  

NanJo was a member of the Bob Millett Sunday School Class at Lakewood United Methodist Church. Her faith was important to her and she loved her church. Her friends from church became life-long friends whose relationships she nourished and integrated into her family life. NanJo also loved social gatherings and was involved with many social organizations such as Beta Sigma Phi and the Maumelle Newcomers.  She was involved in community service in numerous ways including serving as a National Ambassador for UNICEF and transforming the landscapes of many areas in central Arkansas as a “master gardener.”   

When she married Martin L. “ML” Coleman, Jr., on October 10, 1996, they moved from North Little Rock to Maumelle, AR, where she lived until 2015. NanJo described ML as the love of her life, and they spent many years traveling the world and celebrating life together. In 2015, NanJo moved to Fox Ridge Chenal, an assisted living facility in Little Rock where she was very involved. 

NanJo was a beloved mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She was a noted scholar, a talented musician, a brilliant researcher and academician, a seamstress and a master gardener. She was one of a kind and will be remembered for her love of life, her positive slant on all situations, her beautiful and enduring smile, her love to entertain, and her devotion to her friends and family. 

A celebration of life will be held at Lakewood United Methodist Church on Friday, July 19th at 10 AM in the sanctuary. A reception will follow the service in Gibson Hall. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Alpha-1 Foundation http://www.alpha1.org/How-to-Help/Help-Raise-Funds/Donate.