ETHEL MARIE (COFFMAN) GUSTAVSON Ethel Marie Coffman was born January 4, 1923, in a blizzard. There were no cabs on the streets due to conditions, so her father, Henry John Coffman, hailed a passing mailman, and his wife, Marie Wilhelmina Coffman, sat on a crate of returned mail all the way to the Brooklyn, N.Y., Norwegian Hospital. Ethel endured a tumultuous childhood, graduating from Julia Richman High School in 1942. While a young woman she worked as a secretary at General Motors, danced with servicemen as a World War II USO Hostess, played the accordion, won a jitterbug contest, and competed for the Miss America title. On a blind date in 1950 she met Sidney Gustavson, and a year later, on March 31, 1951, she married him. The happy couple welcomed daughter Linda on January 11, 1952, and Vendla on August 14, 1954. Sidney's work as auditor for the Atomic Energy Commission required the family's move from Brooklyn to Springfield, Va., before settling in Damascus, Md., in 1956. In Damascus they became active members of the local Methodist church, and Ethel an active participant of the Women's Guild for many years. Through church they met a group of close-knit friends"The Jolly 8"with whom they regularly traveled, dined and played cards. In 1966 the family took an adventurous trip through Norway, Sweden and Denmark, saw the Arctic Circle and northern lights, and visited Ethel's Norwegian relatives. When Sidney retired in 1977 the couple moved to Inverness, Fla., where they were members of the country club and enjoyed playing golf together. They often traveled, and particularly enjoyed a vacation to the Canadian Rockies, sending postcards home from beautiful Lake Louise. In the 1980s, the couple welcomed grandchildren Abby (July 9, 1984), Tim (February 19, 1985) and Darien (June 19, 1987). In 1988, after 37 years of marriage, Ethel lost Sidney to cancer and moved back to Frederick, Md., to be closer to her children and grandchildren and reconnect with old friends. She enjoyed going out to eat Chinese food and reading Danielle Steele novels and the Harry Potter series. In 2004 she moved to Riderwood Village in Silver Spring, Md., where she enjoyed chatting with new friends in the dining room. On average, she entertained visits from family twice per week (though often daily), going on shopping trips to local malls and supermarkets, or out to eat at her favorite restaurant, Hunan Manor. On January 4, 2013, she celebrated her 90th birthday in style at Phillip's Seafood Restaurant, Baltimore, Md., where surrounded by family, she dined on lobster tails and recounted numerous tales of mischief. Ethel is survived by daughter Linda and son-in-law Richard Bangham, daughter Vendla and son-in-law Tom Esler, nieces Debra DeBastos and Donna Fromel, nephew David DeBastos, grandchildren Abby Gibbon, Tim Shea and Darien Esler, and step-grandchildren Duke Esler and Michael Esler. A memorial gathering will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 21, at the Bangham's home in Silver Spring, Md.
