Fran graduated from Valley High School (Gilcrest, Colorado) in May 1964 as an honor roll student and received the Redmond Scholarship.
Upon graduation, Coleman moved to Denver to work for Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph as an entry-level clerk.
The family moved back to Denver in 1969 and Fran resumed employment at Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph.
She worked in the telecommunications industry for 31 years eventually retiring in April 1998 in order to campaign for State Representative in House District 1.
Her platform included three principle issues: Coleman was elected State Representative for House District 1, located in Arapahoe, Denver and Jefferson Counties, on November 3, 1998.
She volunteered teaching young mothers about the importance of nutrition for their babies, and became a "soccer mom" at her boys' school before the term was popular.
In 1979, she became the Chairwoman of Reading is Fundamental (RIF) at her sons' school and raised hundreds of dollars to buy books for inner-city children.
As Parish Council President, she spent numerous volunteer hours fundraising which in 1984 helped build a new church for Presentation of Our Lady.
As a member of the Colorado Optometric Board, she spent many rewarding hours in leading efforts to provide glasses and services to the legally blind.