Our Dad was many people’s favorite person. He had that look in his eyes that revealed depth, genuine desire for everyone to treat each other just and with respect. He was surrounded by women and he loved every second we were all together.
Virgil Owen Collins was born on July 13th 1952 in Nebraska City, Nebraska to Violet Jean (Sharp) and Willie Joe Collins.
He was the third born of four boys. The family moved to a house they would call home on N. Fox street in Portland, Or. when Virgil was a young boy. Our family eventually moved to a house across the street from our Dad’s childhood home in the late 80s. We were all lucky to be so nearby our loving Grandparents.
Our Dad was an adventurer as a young child who loved to break the rules and have fun. He loved telling us stories of his mischievous behavior that lasted through his teens, and how he knew he would get a whooping but it was worth it to feel alive. There was always laughter when Dad was around. Guaranteed.
He and our Mom, Lulie started dating in high-school, at the end of her freshmen year, he was a junior. One night, he and his friend, Pat drove to The Dalles, Or. where Mom was staying with her Aunt Florence and Uncle Tommy. He presented her with a gold banded ring hugging three beautiful pearls, and asked her to go steady. She of course said yes! He loved gifting Mom beautiful things that showed his love and appreciation for her.
They married on September 8th, 1973 and remained together until his last day. Their relationship continues to be a blessing of beautiful friendship and true love that permeated and impressed those around them, including us girls. Our Dad did whatever was needed to take care of our Mama, and she for him. Together, they displayed the beauty of what a lasting love and marriage can be.
Dad worked hard his entire life to provide the best for our family, and had phenomenal work ethic. He made personal sacrifices too, like when he borrowed some funds from his retirement in the 90s to take us to Disneyland, which he did not personally enjoy. In fact I’m pretty sure it was one of the most torturous events for him, but he loved making us happy.
He spent some years in his twenties working for Rhodia Inc. in North Portland and when the company moved to another state, they paid for their laid off employees college tution. Dad enrolled at ITT Tech where he attained his Associates of Applied Science in Electronics Engineering Technology. Heidi remembers Dad showing her a radio he built from scratch and feeling so impressed with how smart our Dad was. He worked at Galvanizers while attending college also. He received an award at his graduation ceremony commending him for his perfect attendance and another for achieving a constant 4.0- G.P.A. while at ITT Tech. He never missed a day or a class. That is how our Dad was.
After graduation he started working for Rhone Poulenc where he worked as a chemical technician. Rhone Poulenc was eventually bought out by Rhodia Inc. He retired in the summer of 2015 right before his 63rd birthday. With his inspiring work ethic, Dad taught us to be fully invested in every task we undertook, or were told to do; whether it was cleaning the dishes, stacking wood, eradicating and picking blackberries, doing homework, scooping dog poop or washing the car, our first jobs as dishwashers, fast food employees, cashiers, and eventually attending college ourselves.
In 1994, after Heidi graduated from high school , the family moved to Corbett, OR. We moved into a home right up the road from Mom and Dad’s best friends since high school, Art and Jan Schoepper. I was in sixth grade and Kellie in second. This is where our Dad was happiest, in the trees with the birds, slugs and planes flying directly above as they sought landing at the Portland airport. The sunsets from that property are phenomenal and are framed by trees that our Dad planted. He is everywhere there.
Our Dad loved playing dominos, cards, cribbage, planting and raising vegetable gardens, reading the paper and destroying crosswords with his mad intelligence, loving his wife, daughters, grand-daughters and other close family, and as everyone close to him knows, he loved sipping on beer. He enjoyed baking pies and making delicious meals for our family dinners.
Our Dad was in his happiest place, outside at his home when he suddenly passed on July 13th 2018. He had just blown out candles on an ice cream cake, after we’d sung happy birthday to him. He was surrounded by all his girls, us who loved him dearly, and whose lives he impacted in more beautiful ways than he ever realized. His impact on his friends and other relatives was more profound than he realized also.
Virgil is survived by his Mother, Violet Jean Collins, his wife, Ellen Lou Collins, his daughters, Heidi Collins, Katie Collins-Guinn and Kellie Collins and his four Grand-daughters, Hannah, Grace, Greeley and Ruby.
Our Dad did not wish to have a funeral service, but the family plans to hold a private memorial sometime in early Fall to celebrate his life.
~ Written by Katie Collins-Guinn
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