Mrs. Earlene Coleman Lilley, 78, of Shelby, NC departed this life on Friday, September 22, 2023, at Atrium Health in Kings Mountain, NC. She was born on October 5, 1944, in Fairfield County, SC to the late Charlie Coleman and the late Lillie Crosby Coleman.

As the sixth oldest child of her parents, Earlene was a very outgoing person. She was a 1963 graduate of Camp High School and studied additionally at Cleveland Technical College. While attending Camp High School, she was a star basketball player, and she continued her love of basketball by playing in the Industrial Basketball Leagues and leisurely with her grandchildren. Her employment included working at Hoechst Celanese and for several years, until most recently as a caregiver in the home health field.

Earlene was a member of Shoal Creek Baptist Church where she previously served in the Young Adult Missionary and Choir. She also was a member of the Meditation Gospel Singers.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, James Lilley; a sister, Rose Lilly Gill and stepson, Jeffrey Lilley.

She leaves to cherish her memory, a son, Jimmy L. Coleman (Diyouna) of Shelby; grandsons, Jamar Coleman, DiQuvon Coleman; granddaughters, Monteshia Addison and Jaaliyah Coleman; great-granddaughter, Eryn Scott; sisters, Mary Frances Coleman, Sallie Gill, Elizabeth Ross (James), Eva C. Abbott and Julie Brooks (Johnny) all of Shelby; a brother, Woodrow Coleman (fiancée, Pat Lilly) of Charleston, SC; step-children, Apostle Bradford Lilley, Gary Lilley, Cynthia Lilley-Hargis and Gay Lilley-Spellman; one uncle, George E. Crosby; two aunts, Bessie C. Littlejohn and Clouggeon H. Crosby all of Shelby and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 1:30 PM at Shoal Creek Baptist Church Shelby, NC. The family will receive friends from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM on Tuesday and also at 209 Chiquita Street, Shelby, NC. Burial will take place at the church cemetery.