James Charles Collins

James Charles Collins, beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, and colleague, passed away peacefully in Dallas on July 27, 2017. He was 92.

Born on February 13, 1925 on the south side of Chicago, he graduated from the De La Salle Institute. In 1945, following two years of military service in World War II, Jim began his career at the Stevens Hotel as a secretary in the sales department. The Stevens was acquired by Hilton shortly thereafter and is now known as the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

After serving in a variety of positions he was named Assistant Vice President of Sales in 1962 and three years later became Vice President of Sales for Hilton Hotels Corporation. When Hilton consolidated its headquarters in 1969, Jim relocated to Beverly Hills, California. In 1977, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing, and was responsible for the sales, advertising, public relations, and marketing activities of all divisions within Hilton Hotels.

Under his leadership, Hilton pioneered many of the programs and services that are considered industry standards today. He created the first professional hotel sales training program in the 1960s for both men and women. Jim actively encouraged women to enroll in this program and made certain that they were given equal consideration for promotion into sales and hotel management.

He developed the first corporate marketing plan in the hotel industry, expanded the concept of regional sales offices in the United States and internationally, spearheaded development of the industry’s first automated sales information system, negotiated the first agreement to provide hotel availability and rates to airline reservation systems, developed a pre-registration program providing immediate check-in and check-out service for frequent business travelers, and created a centralized booking service providing 24-hour confirmation of group meeting arrangements at any Hilton in the United States.

Throughout his career, Jim served on numerous industry and foundation boards, including chairmanship of the prestigious International Marketing Plan Development Committee that developed the first long-term Marketing Plan for the United States Travel and Tourism Administration. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldridge and President Ronald Reagan recognized his leadership in this effort.

In 1993, he was elected to the Convention Industry Council Hall of Leaders in recognition of his vision in creating the position of highly skilled convention service professionals. In 2003, Jim was elected to the HSMAI Hall of Fame for his lifelong dedication to the development of sales professionals in the hospitality industry.

Jim is predeceased by one brother, John, and his sisters, Florence and Catherine, as well as two of his eight children, Nancy and Kathy, and one grandchild, Dennis (Heather Corbett). His wife of 50 years, Rita, passed away in 1998.

He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Sheila McFarland, whom he married in 2000. Sheila is also a retired executive of Hilton with 33 years of experience. He is also survived by an extensive family of six children (James C. Collins, Jr., Patricia Galvin, Mary Ellen Collins, Richard Collins, Daniel Collins, and Debra Keith), eight grandchildren (Kevin Corbett married to Lisa Corbett, Chris Corbett married to Jolette Corbett, Andrew Corbett, Kelie Edwards Schallert married to James Schallert, Major Timothy J. Collins married to Linzy Jamba Collins, Zachary Erck, Brett Keith, James Keith), and eight great-granchildren (Brianna Corbett, Courtney Corbett, Blake Corbett, Ryleigh Corbett, Clayton Corbett, Dominic Corbett, Deacon Corbett, and Olivia Corbett).

Please see the website established www.jamescharlescollins.com.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Funeral Mass – Monday – July 31 – 3:00 pm

St. Monica Catholic Church

9933 Midway Road

Dallas, TX 75220

There will be reception immediately following this service in the Family Center at St. Monica.

Memorial Mass – Thursday – August 3 – 10:00 am

St. Bernardine of Siena Catholic Church

24410 Calvert at Valley Circle

Woodland Hills, CA 91367

There will be a luncheon immediately following this mass at:

North Ranch Country Club

4761 Valley Spring Drive.

Westlake Village,, Ca. 91362

805-496-1995

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In lieu of flowers, Jim’s family has asked that donations be made to one of the following:

De La Salle Institute

c/o Iris Gist Cochran

Director of Development

3434 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60616

Holy Trinity Seminary

c/o Very Reverend James Swift, C.M.

Rector, Director of Formation

3131 Vince Hagan Drive

Irving, TX 75062

PCMA Education Foundation

C/O Debra Sexton CEO

35 East Wacher Drive, Suite 500

Chicago, IL 60601