Gloria Coleman Sweitzer

Gloria Coleman Sweitzer, 76, of Norfolk, Virginia, passed away Thursday, March 19, 2026, following a prolonged illness. She was born January 12, 1950, in Clarksville VA, the first child of Nellie Gray Thompson Coleman and Walter Wyles Coleman, Jr. She was predeceased by her parents, her sister & brother-in-law, Sandra Leigh Coleman Dunn and Hank Allen Dunn Jr., and her son-in-law, Michael Wayne Dooley.

Gloria attended Park View High School, graduating in 1969; she then earned an Associate’s degree in Accounting from Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) in 1971. She married her Lunenburg County love Charles and moved with him to Fredericksburg & Lynchburg, working for the City of Fredericksburg & Appalachian Power Company as Charles worked toward his architect’s license. They finally landed in Norfolk where she pursued her deep love of gardening by completely reworking & converting her lawn with flowers, plants, trees, & yard decorations. She was an early fan of raised bed gardening due to the limited space in her backyard, resulting in her being interviewed for an article in The Virginian Pilot. Gloria was praised and admired by her neighbors & friends for her beautiful yard.

Gloria was a multi-year support member of the Norfolk Botanical Gardens & Virginia Zoological Park, taking friends & family for field trips & fundraisers. She worked as a preschool teacher’s aide with the Jewish Community Center before the center moved to VA Beach; she spoke fondly of her work & the students she influenced and continued to purchase books & educational items to send to them or to donate to other young people. Gloria loved thrift store shopping, cooking, music, purple flowers, old western shows, watching British murder mystery shows on PBS, reading murder mystery novels (Charles kept lists of books he ordered for her from all over the US at their local library), talking to family & friends on the phone, and seafood, especially she-crab soup.

Gloria had always wanted to be a grandma and got her wish when her daughter Heather & son-in-law Michael had their two boys Coleman & Charlie. She adored her grandsons and looked forward to their visits or when she & husband Charles traveled to Bedford. She rearranged her living room to create play areas for the boys when they came to Norfolk, looking for bins & baskets to store their toys & books after they left.

Gloria is survived by her husband of 53 years Charles Ray Sweitzer, daughter Heather Gray Sweitzer Dooley, her beloved grandsons Coleman Wayne Dooley and Charles (Charlie) Kenneth Dooley, brother Walter Gray Coleman (Melodie) of South Hill, VA, sisters, Brenda Coleman (Sara Pearson) of Ashland, VA and Kimberly(Kim) Coleman Austin (Tim) of South Hill, VA, numerous in-laws & cousins, nieces & nephews, great-nieces & nephews, and many other relatives and friends.

A Celebration of Gloria’s life will be held May 9, 2026, from 2pm-4pm at the South Hill Presbyterian Church, 914 N. Mecklenburg Ave, South Hill, VA 23970. Another celebration will be held in Norfolk on June 20, 2026, from 2pm-4pm at the Royster Memorial Presbyterian Church, 6901 Newport Ave, Norfolk, VA 23505. Please come ready to socialize and dance to some of Gloria’s favorite tunes. Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory in Bedford, VA has been assisting the family with all arrangements.