Ava Lee Collingwood

COLUMBIA - Visitation for Ava Lee Collingwood, 59, will be held from 5 until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 29, 2016, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 31, 2016, at Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia. The family will receive friends after the service at her parents’ home. Memorials may be made to the Cullen’s Arch Angel Rescue, P.O. Box 90060, Columbia, SC 29290 or the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, SC 29210-1790. Ms. Collingwood was born October 28, 1957 in Columbia, S.C. and passed away on Sunday, December 25, 2016. She was a daughter of Robert E. Collingwood, Jr. and Ann Belin. Ms. Collingwood loved the beach and the outdoors, dancing, and watching classic movies, but her real passion was being an animal rescue volunteer. In this role, she served as a volunteer foster parent for dogs, was a Transport and Home Visit Coordinator, as well as Board Member for Cullen’s Arch Angel Rescue. For nine years she was an Intake Case Worker and volunteered with Pilots N Paws. She worked as an Executive Administrator for the Senior Vice President for over eleven years with Blue Cross Blue Shield in Columbia. Ms. Collingwood is survived by her father, Robert E. Collingwood, Jr. (Patsy); sisters, Lisa Clark (Rick) of Yankton, S.D. and Dawn Griner (Embree) of Irmo; brother, Robby Collingwood (Toni) of St. Louis, Mo.; nieces, Sarah and Rachel Clark, Brittany Steinberg (Kyle) and Kenzie Griner; and nephews, Bradley Clark, Nick Collingwood (Stephanie) and Joey Biggart and hundreds of rescued and adopted dogs, cats, birds and other animals. She was preceded in death by her mother, Ann B. McCullough; stepfather, Ike McCullough and sister, Stacey Collingwood.~