Nathaniel Coleman, 88, was the recipient of a much-needed surprise.
ORANGE -- He watched very closely the changes being made to the backyard he has known for 70 years.
Volunteers clad in bright orange shirts from the local Home Depot were busy renovating the area by packing down soil, laying down a stone path and heaving up stubborn roots. Nathaniel Coleman, an 88-year-old Korean War veteran, watched the upgrades from his perch on the back steps of his house, where his arthritis anchored him on Friday, but kept one eye trained on what was leaving out the back gate.
"No, no," Coleman said, as a worker started to wheel a well-worn wheelbarrow out the gate. "I hate to see that thrown away. If you could hear the stories that one could tell."
A collection of items Coleman wanted to keep lay around the backyard. But the rest of the yard was being redone for free by Home Depot after Coleman received several code violations from the city, but was physically unable to bring his house up to standard.
Coleman, who has lived in the same home in Orange since 1946, is part of an aging veteran population, The octogenarian, who has troubled knees, said health and mobility issues have prevented him from keeping up with chores around the house.
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Since 2011, Team Depot, a volunteer-based force, has been working to keep elderly veterans in their homes. The need, they say, is great.
According to the Social Security Administration, 8.4 million veterans will turn 65 by the year 2020. In New Jersey alone, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs, there are 236,000 veterans age 65 and older.
For Coleman, his home was the site for several milestones: It was where he got his first job in his late teens picking vines off the side of the exterior. It was the home he and his late wife, Kate, lived in for decades. It was where they raised their three children, Candace, Paula, and Carl. The backyard was where he planted a flowering pear tree back in 2007 to commemorate one of his granddaughters getting married.
Home Depot volunteers were careful with their renovations, giving the items Coleman kept close to his heart a wide berth.
"We're really happy to be doing this for Mr. Coleman," said Michael Flavius, store manager at the Home Depot in Totowa. "He needed some help and we're here to bring it to him."
Katie Park may be reached at kpark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @kathspark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.