Ronald Wayne Collins Sr.

Ronald Wayne Collins Sr., 92, passed away peacefully at home on January 26, 2025, surrounded by his family in a room overflowing with love. He was born February 25, 1932 to Roland and Edna Collins at their family home on Chincoteague Island, Virginia. He grew up by the beautiful still waters and marsh grasses of Chincoteague and began his love of hunting from time spent with his grandfather. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the US Coast Guard in 1952. He met and fell in love with his future wife, Judith Horton Collins, while stationed at Chatham, Massachusetts. They married in 1958 and he moved his Boston bride to Raleigh, North Carolina where they began their building business and started their family. They built homes for over 40 years across Wake County. He was an active member of the Homebuilders Association of Raleigh – Wake County, serving as president in 1973. He was also a lifetime member of the Wake County Wildlife Club, serving as president in 1971.

He and Judy shared a beautiful lifetime of love. He loved Jesus and dearly loved his family and raised his children to love each other. He gave them all his tremendous love and appreciation for the outdoors through time spent walking in the woods, in Wintergreen, Chincoteague, his hunting land, and camping—a 6-week family cross-country trip in 1975 their most memorable family trip. At their North Hills home, he built his children a great tree house and several tree swings, enjoyed by them and many neighbors’ kids. They bought a home in Wintergreen, Virginia in 1981 where the family has enjoyed many years of family trips, skiing and mountain hiking. He enjoyed hunting throughout his life—the highlights; hunting with his son Ronald, son-in-law Russ, and with many lifelong friends, both locally and on multiple big game hunts out west. In his later years, rather than hunt, he said he preferred to just watch and sit with the wildlife he so appreciated. In their retirement, he and Judy made multiple camping cross-country trips and several trips to Alaska.

A quiet man to many, he had a clever sense of humor and a love for fun and good-natured teasing. His family enjoyed his beautiful singing and whistling on trips and endured a lot of owl hoots and turkey calls. In his later years, what he enjoyed most was having all his family together, and the frequent visits of his children and grandchildren…and then great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, Roland and Edna Hill Collins and his beloved brother, Donald King Collins. He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his loving wife of almost 67 years, Judy; children: Susan Collins Vann, Cindy Collins Lupton and husband Russ, Jill Collins Terry and husband Doug, and Ronald Wayne Collins, Jr. and wife Stephanie; grandchildren: Loren, Ashton, Cameron, Joshua, Christopher, Thomas, Carson, Karys and Austin; his sister-in-law, Betty Jo Collins; brother-in-law, Charles Horton and wife Si, 8 great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He leaves all his family with so much gratitude for having had such a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather for so many years. He loved us all so deeply, and passed that on to all of his family. A celebration of Wayne’s life will be held Saturday, February 1, 2025 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, located at 1701 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh, NC 27609, at 11:30 a.m., immediately followed by a visitation at 12:30 p.m. A private family interment will take place at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to Samaritans Purse, US Disaster Relief.