Honoring David Colemer

David Colemer, a military veteran, father, husband, and beloved friend of many passed away unexpectedly on September 21st 2020. David served our country for twenty six years with the Minnesota National Guard which he enrolled in after high school. While enlisted he completed three major tours in Iraq, Bosnia, and Kuwait. Overseas he served as a tanker, military intelligence officer, and in air defense. David retired only after he sustained a major neck injury which forced him to retire from his USPS job as well. Most importantly, David was an incredible husband of 26 years (the two have been together for over thirty years) and father of three children Jordan (20), Josh (25), and Jax (12). Soon after retirement, in 2014, David went in for a shoulder surgery pre-op and found out that there was cancer in his blood. Later, the official diagnosis came back as Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Doctors informed the family that they would do the “wait and see” approach and wait for the cancer to become more aggressive. In 2018, the cancer became more aggressive and the search for a bone marrow donor began. David never let down, in his freetime he continued to be involved in several veteran programs including Wounded Warriors, kept on enjoying the outdoors, and had recently purchased a home and land near a lake ( a dream of Krista and David’s).  After his original diagnosis, the family continued to travel across the country in the summer together, exploring parks and making memories. In 2019, Krista and David moved to Seattle leaving behind the three kids so that David could be treated at the VA there. The good news came! David received the bone marrow transplant on June 11th of 2019. After the transplant, Krista and David spent a few more months away so that he could continue to be monitored by doctors. In January 2020, Krista and David returned home to Moorhead to stay. Unfortunately, there were several bumps in the road because of his weakened immune system. However, David powered through every single one. As noted above, his passing was very unexpected as he had been admitted due to concerns of a potential blood clot (which had occurred before). Krista and David soon found out he had pneumonia and his conditions quickly worsened and he passed away early afternoon on September 21st. 

As friends of the family, we have reached out, and with Krista’s permission have organized this page. We are looking to help with costs and ensure that David will be honored properly and can be laid to
rest at Fort Ripley as he wished.