Betty June Collins

June was born on June 9, 1946 and was a life-long resident of Oak Hill (Austin), Texas.

She was born legally blind and had to overcome certain hardships while attending public schools.

Her parents enrolled her in Dripping Springs High School because it afforded her certain accommodations not offered elsewhere. After graduation in 1964, June attended the Texas Lions Camp for the Blind in Kerrville where she learned the skills necessary to navigate her way through a sighted world. This proved to be very beneficial after losing her sight completely in 1972.

June was a member of Kinney Avenue Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School to teenagers. She had a unique way of teaching which held the interest of those she taught. June’s love of softball gave her other opportunities to interact with young people. She coached a girls’ softball team for several years in the Oak Hill Youth Sports Association and brought her energy and enthusiasm to that role, too.

June had a contagious smile and was often the life of the party. She loved to talk about her favorite things such as softball, baseball, politics, music, Texas Longhorns, Houston Astros and Dallas Cowboys.

Her favorite musical artist was Aretha Franklin. Seeing Aretha in concert at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in 2011 was a dream come true.

Anyone who knew June also knew that what brought the most joy to her life were her two grandsons (known to them as “Mimi”). In their younger years, Mimi enjoyed sitting with them while they played video games. Listening to all the noises the games produced, she could somehow follow along and help the boys occasionally with some of their moves to beat the game. She also instilled in them a love of sports, especially baseball and basketball.

Although June was blind most of her life, she regained partial vision following one of her many strokes. Her family doctor said, “We’re going to call it a miracle” and that was what it felt like to her family and friends. It was a joy watching June actually “see” things with the aid of glasses after being in a dark world for so many years. As you can image, her greatest happiness came from seeing the faces of those

she loved.

June is predeceased by her parents, Ben and Jo Johnson, sisters, Sally Johnson and Pat Smith, brothers, Bud Johnson and Sam Johnson, nephews, Donnie Krabe and Rickie Krabe.

June is survived by her son, Jayson Collins, two grandchildren, Caden Collins and Trenton Collins,

friend and caregiver, Bonnie Zook, a sister, Clara Krabe Kinney, a brother, Cotton Johnson and

wife Emma, and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Many thanks to the staff at Barton Valley Rehabilitation Center for providing excellent daily care to

June over the past 13 months, with a special appreciation to her Hospice nurse, Olga,

for her compassion and care during June’s final days.

A private service for the family was held on Friday, October 22nd at Cook-Walden Funeral Home.

When the time is right, the family will spread June’s ashes in Port Aransas, Texas, her favorite vacation spot. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Oak Hill Youth Sports Association,

P. O. Box 91416, Austin, Texas 78709. Donations can be made via Venmo to august-payne-2 or

via PayPal: [email protected].

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenforestoaks.com for the Collins family.