Georgia Frances Collins

Georgia Frances Bushnell Collins died after a prolonged illness at The Fountains at Canterbury in Oklahoma City, OK. She was born on July 22, 1929, in Joliet, Illinois, daughter of Frederick Ransom and Ione Steigle Bushnell. The family moved to Rochelle, Illinois, shortly thereafter where Georgia spent her pre-college years. She attended Rochelle Township High School, where she loved music and was an active participant in a variety of school organizations. She played clarinet in the high school band and served as Secretary. In her senior year, she was named Editor-in-Chief of the Tatler, RTHS’s award-winning high school yearbook.

Georgia went on to attend the University of Illinois, where she was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, Mask and Bauble dramatic club, Torch honor society, and the Panhellenic and Shi-Ai councils; played clarinet for the Marching Illini, one of the nation’s premier marching bands; participated in numerous intramural sports including Powder Puff Football; and was named an Illio Beauty Queen, runner-up to Miss Illinois 1949, and the “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi”. She graduated in 1951 with a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and embarked on a career as a speech therapist. She married Julian Judson Collins, Jr. in August, 1952, and due to his work, moved around the central Midwest several times, before settling in Hinsdale, Illinois, in 1961. They had two children, Mary and Mark.

Georgia will be remembered for her beautiful smile, one that she used often, and for her lifelong passion for people, music, the arts, and sports. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. For thirty-five years, she was an active member of the adult choir at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Oklahoma City. During her life, she actively pursued a number of sports, including tennis, golf and skiing. Over the years, she and her husband were members of the Greens Country Club and Quail Creek Country Club in Oklahoma City and the Hinsdale Golf Club and Salt Creek Swim & Tennis Club in Hinsdale, IL.

Georgia is survived by her devoted husband, Jud; daughter, Mary (Terry) Johnson of Tulsa, OK; son, Mark Collins of New Canaan, CT; grandchildren, Amy, Rachel, Greg, Alexis and Hunter; brother, Fred (Meg) Bushnell of Stillman Valley, IL; and several nieces, nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by her brother Malcolm and her parents. Memorial services will be held on January 21, 2015 at 2:00 pm at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Oklahoma City. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be given to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Arthritis Foundation.