Funeral services were held Wednesday for Edward and Rosemarie Coles.
WEST DEPTFORD TWP. -- Edward and Rosemarie Coles were high school sweethearts who married and raised two sons.
Everyone knew Ed.
The West Deptford High School grad was well-known for his skills at playing and repairing musical instruments. Professional musicians from around the country sought his instrument-mending skills.
The saxophone and clarinet player spent 42 years with the Bonsal Blues Band, where he served as conductor at the time of his death.
While Rosemarie may have seemed shy, she had a vibrant personality and a huge heart, her family said.
This is the Ed and Rosemarie that family and friends want everyone to remember.
Funeral services were held Wednesday for the couple, who were allegedly beaten to death last month.
One of their sons, Ryan Coles, was charged with murder after police discovered his parents' bodies in their home on Aug. 26.
Coles remains jailed on $1 million bail. A motive for the crime has not been revealed.
Ed and Rosemarie married in 1983. Ed opened Coles Music Service in 2008, growing from a repair shop to a full-service music store. He later sold the business to his cousins.
Through all those years, there was always the band.
To Ed Coles, the Bonsal Blues Band was more than a collection of talented musicians.
"He really looked at that as part of his extended family," said George Wiese, the band's business manager and librarian.
Wiese and Ed Coles were friends since their teenage years.
Ed and his father joined the band at the same time in the 1970s, Wiese recalled, and Ed Coles Sr. is still a member of the band.
Rosemarie, a talented clarinet player, was also a member of the band at one time, Wiese recalled, and remained an active supporter at band functions.
Ed Jr. helped build up the community band and made musicians feel comfortable at the same time, Wiese said.
He recalled how Coles could restore order if rehearsals were being overshadowed by too much socializing.
"He never raised his voice. He had a unique way of talking to the band. He could tell us to shut up and not insult us," he chuckled.
He recalled one case when Ed Jr. had to get Ed Sr.'s attention. "He threw his baton at his dad once during rehearsals," Wiese recalled, but "He was so good-natured. You couldn't get mad at him."
Ed always arranged the trips to concerts around the country and was in the midst of planning a band trip to Tennessee when he died.
Members were left shaken by the news of the deaths.
"It's tough because Eddie has done so much for us over the years," Wiese said.
When he first learned what had happened, his first thought was to cancel the regular Monday rehearsal at American Legion Post 133. "One of the members said, 'We need to get together as a family,'" Wiese recalled.
In the end, about 200 people gathered to share memories that day and pay tribute to their conductor and friend.
The band even played at the viewing Tuesday night.
To sum up how Ed Coles felt about the band, Wiese shared a message his friend sent to band members following their 2015 Christmas concerts. In part, it read:
"I am the very fortunate director to lead this phenomenal community band. This proud and talented organization has been around since 1948. I am proud to say that I am friends with 65 of the most talented and nicest musicians in south Jersey. No matter what life hands me, this band uplifts me to a euphoric high. I am humbled to be their director. Thank you Bonsal Blues Band for allowing me to be part of your lives."
Instead of flowers for the funeral, his family suggested memorial donations be made in Ed's memory to a scholarship fund for anyone entering the music or instrument repair field.
Donations may be sent to: Bonsal Blues Band, c/o George Wiese, 117 E. Military Drive, National Park, NJ 08063.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.