Robert John Collins

Robert John Collins passed away on June 2, 2022, at 85 years of age. He was known to his friends and family as Bob. Bob was born on August 12, 1936, in Dolgellau in North Wales to Herbert and Flora (Barnes) Collins, the youngest of three children. He grew up in the village of Ganllwyd and lived at the Tyn-Y-Groes Cottages where the surrounding countryside became Bob's "playground." The woods, the open fields, and the Mawddach River provided endless adventures as well as opportunities to forage for food to help supplement the family dinner table during the strict rationing years of World War II.

He attended the Ganllwyd Village School and graduated from the Dolgellau School for Boys where he received General Certificates of education in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, English, French and Art. Growing up he spoke both Welsh and English. Bob’s education continued in the fields of mechanical and manufacturing plant engineering. He earned a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering from the Stretford Technical College near Manchester, England. He then studied Mechanical Engineering at the Salford Royal College of Technology and later in life, he studied Business Administration at Regis College in Denver.

After leaving college, Bob lived near both Manchester and Bridgewater in Somerset. He began his career working for Simon-Carves, Ltd and British Cellophane. Bob married Audrey (Evans) Collins on October 29, 1961, in Dolgellau, Wales, and was married until 1990. They had one child, Stephen. In 1965, he and his family emigrated to Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, where he worked for H.A. Simons.

For the majority of his professional career, Bob was employed by major engineering firms in the Denver area. His family moved to the Denver area in 1966 where Bob worked in piping engineering and in the emerging field of computer aided design at Stearns-Roger Corporation and Stearns Catalytic World Corporation. They moved to New Jersey in 1973 where Bob worked as the Director of Sales and Engineering Service for Auton Computing Corporation located in New York City. After Stearns Roger enticed him back to the Denver area in 1977, he continued to develop their Computer Aided Design (CAD) program until the mid-1980s. He started working in the evolving telecommunications industry at Martin Marietta and eventually USWest/Qwest where he retired. As a lifelong learner, he was at the forefront of the computing field by learning and later training employees on many computer systems and hardware platforms, and software programs. Bob published several papers and newsletters on the computing field, with his most notable being published in The International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering. One of his computer algorithms, the “Collins” Algorithm was featured in a PBS documentary.

Bob met Jeanna Wearing, his sweetheart of 33 years, with whom he would spend the rest of his life as a companion. In 1992, they took a trip to his home of Wales where they explored the area where he grew up and visited family. Especially memorable was the excursion to the basket maker and the visits to the nearby farm animals. In 2012 Bob moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to Jeanna and they shared a wonderful life together, attending concerts and musical events, gardening, and spending quiet evenings together.

Bob was active in his community and belonged to the Colorado Welsh Society. He was a writer for the Y Drych, an American Welsh newspaper and a member of the National Writers Club. Bob served on the Board of The Colorado Mahlerfest Festival and designed the concert programs. During his retirement he worked for classical music station KCME 88.7 FM, and designed their website, posted programming pages, and designed all the fund drive letters. He served on the Board of the Pikes Peak Opera League and as the editor and creator of their monthly newsletters. Bob composed poems, and published a book entitled: From There to Here: From a Childhood in Wales to a Retirement in America -- in Verse. He enjoyed painting, gardening, photography, and especially enjoyed making mincemeat pies at Christmas and spending time with his only granddaughter, Elise.

Bob is survived by his long-time companion Jeanna Wearing; his son, Stephen Collins and daughter-in-law, Catherine; his beloved granddaughter Elisabeth Collins; and nieces and nephews, Peter Cook, Michael Cook, John Cook, Trisha (Cook) Edwards, Paul Cook, Elizabeth (Cook) Hughes, Evelyn (nee Helen Cleal) Pickard, and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, and sisters, Evelyn (Collins) Cleal and Brenda (Collins) Cook.

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