Basil Don Collins

Basil Don Collins, 71, of Lubbock, died at 2:13 AM, Thursday, October 18, 2018 at his daughter’s home in New Braunfels. He was born November 23, 1946 in Matador, Texas, to Basil Vernon and Dorothy Mae Collins (both deceased). He is survived by his wife Diane Tauferner Collins. They were married on August 29, 1986.Also surviving are three sons, Wes (Donna) Hill of Amarillo, Eric (Tina) Collins of Olympia, WA, and Jonathan (Jess) Collins of Denton; four daughters, Holly Matthews of Lubbock, Mellissa (Jeff) Willis of Yelm, WA, Laura (Christian) Balo of New Braunfels, and Emily Collins of Lubbock; 12 amazing grandchildren; one sister Carolyn (Freddy) Jones of Vernon; two brothers, Van Allen (Barbra) Collins of Canyon, and Richard (Jo) Collins of Amarillo.Don’s three brothers, John Collins, Quenton “Dink” Collins, and Jerry Collins and one grandson, Ian Basil preceded him in death.Don grew up in Turkey, TX and served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. He moved to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University where he received his BBA. He stayed in Lubbock to raise his family until he and his wife became full time RVers. He retired from the Texas Veterans Commission in 2014 after 16 years of service. He also officiated YFL, middle school, and high school football for over 30 years.He loved history, travelling with his bride, and sharing the best stories, and you could be sure 50% of every story was true. You just never knew which 50%. Don was generous to the ones he loved, never met a stranger, and always had a smile on his face. He also enjoyed talking politics with his favorite son-in-law, Christian. He was so proud of his children and would not let you leave until you heard all about them and all the places that he and Diane had been to in their travels.The memorial service for Don will be held at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers at 1:00 PM on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Family and friends are invited to share memories and expressions of sympathy, and view Don’s life tribute at www.memorialdesigners.net.