Golda Mae O’Neal

Golda Mae (Robinson) O’Neal peacefully joined her Lord and Savior at the beautiful age of 93 on December 10, 2025 in Germantown, Wisconsin, in the company of her granddaughter, Golda (Coleman) Moore and great-granddaughter, Tykia Williams.

Golda was born on November 16, 1932 in Wesson, Mississippi, to Charlie Robinson and Pearl Lena (Hooks) Strickland. Golda was a proud and loving mother to her only child, Charles Ellis Coleman Sr, and step-mother to Annette O’Neal. Golda was a beloved grandmother to Charles Ellis Coleman Jr, Golda (Coleman) Moore, and Stefani Coleman, grandmother-in-law to Sharlette “Rena” Coleman, great-grandmother of Tykia Williams, Amia Coleman, Charles Ellis Coleman III, Jailyn Griffin, Christina Coleman, and Eyanna Griffin, and great-great-grandmother to Jace and Jade Moore (parents Tykia Williams and James Moore). Golda was also a great-grandmother-in-law to Alexis Boyers, Lesha Knowles, Kenneth Singleton, and Alexander Boyers. Golda was a devoted sister to Dorothy Robinson, Earvin Johnson, Sr., Thomas David Johnson, Robert Robinson, and K.L. Robinson, a loving aunt to Owen and Karen Hill, and adored great-aunt, niece, cousin and friend to so many.

Golda attended Jackson State College where she studied Cosmology and attained her diploma on June 1st, 1954. In the mid 1950s she and her first husband, the late Ellis Coleman, relocated to Milwaukee where she began employment as a beautician at Childs Beauty Salon. There, she met a fellow beautician, Ms. Francis White (wife of Napoleon and mother of Lloyd, Benjamin, and Gregory), and the two of them became lifelong best friends.

In 1958 she experienced the first of multiple life threatening illnesses. Upon recovering from the initial illness, she began employment with Milwaukee County as a Food Service Worker. She earned several promotions over the course of her 25 year tenure and held the title of Dietetic Technician when she retired.

During the course of her retirement, she and a small close knit group of friends, purchased a motorhome and traveled the country. One of her favorite destinations were the vineyards in Northern California, and afterwards she returned home with cases of vintage Napa Valley wine. She also frequently visited northern Wisconsin with family and friends where she was a joint owner of a lakefront cabin.

Later, she became reacquainted with Charles Larry O’Neal, who was also a former Milwaukee County employee, and he became her second husband on September 4th, 1988. It was a happy and loving marriage that only ended with his death on March 22, 1998.

In approximately 2005, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that required surgical intervention. Complications from this surgery plagued her throughout her life and led to additional medical diagnoses requiring various interventions. In subsequent years she was also diagnosed with stomach cancer that required yet another surgical procedure. Even so, her light never dimmed, and to the contrary its radiance warmed anyone in her presence.

Golda was a lover of life – she adored butterflies and birds, the color purple, traveling and the outdoors, but more than anything, she loved her family and her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Golda made sure that everyone she loved not only knew that she loved them, but they felt it, deeply. Golda’s light was so bright, even strangers couldn’t help but to be engulfed by her warmth. Golda left a mark no matter where she was – whether at a grocery store, train station, clinic or hospital, she touched and enhanced lives, simply by being herself. Golda’s heart melting smile, compassionate eyes, powerful hands, infectious laugh, and unconditional love will be missed more than words can express.

Golda is preceded in death by her grandparents Celain Patterson and James Douglas Hooks, parents Charlie Robinson and Pearl Lena (Hooks) Strickland, uncles John Henry, Robert, and Willie (Patterson), sister Dorothy Robinson (Hill), husband Charles O’Neal, nephew Owen Hill, step-father Willie Strickland, former husband Ellis Coleman, and a host of other relatives and close friends.

Pallbearers are Charles E. Coleman Sr, Charles E. Coleman Jr, Jailyn Griffin, Charles E. Coleman III, Kenneth Singleton, and Steven Little.

Visitation is at Krause Funeral Home, 7001 West Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 from 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM. Service will begin promptly at 12:00 PM CST. Procession to Graceland Cemetery, 6401 North 43rd Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin will begin at 1:00 PM. The service will be live streamed for family and friends that cannot attend in person. The recording of the service will be available for 90 days. Flower donations welcome.

“You’ll never walk alone” – Liverpool Football Club’s slogan

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