BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Coleman “Coley” Phillip Gorham died on Dec. 20, 2020 in Birmingham, Ala. at the age of 102 due to Covid-19 complications.

Coley was born on Feb. 23, 1918 in Portland, fourth child of Coleman and Julia Corbett Gorham. Both parents had immigrated to Portland from County Galway, Ireland. He lived in Portland as a young child and then moved to Riverton where he attended Chevrus High School. He graduated from St. Francis Xavier College in Nova Scotia in 1941 with a B.A. degree in Philosophy. He received a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in English/American Literature and a master’s degree in Psychology from Boston College. An Honorary Doctorate Degree of Public Service was recently awarded to Coley from St. Joseph’s College in Standish on May 9, 2020.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II in 1942 and served until 1945. Coley graduated from U.S. Midshipmen’s School at Columbia University and served as an Ensign aboard an LST that made D-Day landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Elba and France. Coley was called back into the Navy after the Korean War broke out and served as a liaison between the U.S. Navy and the Peruvian and Uruguayan Navies. He was discharged in 1954 as a lieutenant commander.

He worked in the Maine and Massachusetts school systems as a teacher, counselor, and coach. His second career was in real estate as a builder and developer. In addition to building several homes, he restored historical homes in the New England area.

Coley was married to the late Anna Lee for 55 years prior to her passing in January 2020. He was preceded in death by his parents Coleman and Julia Corbett Gorham; and his siblings John Joseph Gorham, Julia Corbett Flaherty, and Mary Corbett Gorham.

Coley was a devoted patriarch to his family. He is survived by his nephews M. Joseph Flaherty (Linda), Patrick M. Gorham (Ann), F. Kevin Gorham (Janet) and his niece, Jean Gorham Johnson (Wayne); several great-nieces and nephews; and great-great-nieces and nephews.

In the early ’90s, Coley and his wife Anna became snowbirds and wintered in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Coley had a passion for helping those less fortunate and was very generous with his time and assets. In Florida, Coley became interested in Haiti. He spent the last 25 years of his life helping the impoverished people of Haiti. He built more than 30 homes for the Haitians, and restored over 100 homes destroyed in the Earthquake. He funded several community projects in Haiti including building a church, restoring an orphanage and opened St. Patrick’s School in the Hattian Village of Petite Reviera-de-Nippes. Coley believed that you never really earned anything until you gave it away.

Coley was a champion for the poor, and a mentor to prisoners. He believed in equality, anti-war and was a strong supporter of developing a U.S. Peace Academy. He expressed his feelings in his writings and welcomed any debate; he loved stirring things up with his op-ed pieces.

A celebration of life and memorial mass for Coley and Anna will be held on Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 492 Ocean Ave., Portland, with the burial immediately following at Calvary Cemetery, 1461 Broadway, in South Portland.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to

The Sisters of Mercy,

c/o Sister Dale Jarvis,

230 Prospect St.

Portland, ME 04103, or

Higher Education and Leadership Program

for Haiti,

3 Coolidge St.

Waterville, ME 04901.

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