Obituary of William J. Coombs

William J. Coombs, 74 of Freehold died Sunday, December 2, 2007 at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. Born in Rochester, New Hampshire, he lived in North Plainfield prior to moving to Freehold two years ago. Mr. Coombs was a self employed professional artist specializing in paintings and lithographs of hot air balloons. He was the official artist of the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, having been commissioned to paint the 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996, 1997 and 2001 festival posters. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean conflict. Surviving are a son, Clifford Coombs, Burlington; three daughters, Toni Faidley, Signal Mountain, Tennessee, Joni Rebecca Coombs, Lakeland, Georgia, and Collette C. Flatt, Freehold; six grandchildren; and two great grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold, on Thursday, December 6, 2007 from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M. Funeral services will be at 8:30 P.M. Donations in his memory to the American Diabetes Association, 1160 Route 22 East, Suite 103, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 would be appreciated.