Mr. Jack Wiggin Collier

Jack Wiggin Collier, age 51, passed away unexpectedly while on a hunting trip with devoted friends on the 20th of January 2010 after complications following a ruptured aneurysm. The eldest child of Ellie and John Collier, he was born in Houston on the 13th of March 1958. Jack graduated from St. John’s School, and then attended Southern Methodist University before obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas. Following his graduation from UT, Jack received his law degree from the South Texas College of Law. After admission to the Texas Bar, Jack joined the law firm Bracewell & Patterson. During his being assigned to the firm’s London office, from 1988 to 1991, he worked at the U.S. Legal Counsel for Underwriting Syndicate 602 at Lloyd’s of London. In 1992, while on a blind date, Jack met the love of his life, Blake Walling Brennan. The couple wed in 1994, and Blake filled the next sixteen years of Jack’s life with immense happiness. Their first child, Jack Jr., was born in 1995, and their second child, Ford, was born in 1997. As a youngster, Jack had attended Camp La Junta in Hunt, Texas, and he felt the organization was a great source of developing strong and ethical character traits for young people. His sons continued in this tradition, and they too had many enjoyable moments at the camp. Jack’s sons were incredibly dear to him, and he took every opportunity to let them both know how amazingly deep his love was for them.In the summer of 1997, the family moved to Bermuda where Jack was a founding partner and General Counsel at Sovereign Risk Insurance, Ltd. Jack was instrumental in building the company into one of the global leaders in the field of political risk insurance. During their ten years of residing in Bermuda, Jack and Blake embraced the local residents and customs of the island and were very well thought of. They made a special mark on the island and truly found another world, which they cherished and respected. It was also an idyllic upbringing for the children and a period of great happiness for the entire family.While remaining in his position at Sovereign Risk, and to the delight of their family and friends in Texas, the Collier family returned to Houston in 2007. At the time of his passing, Jack was intimately involved with the firm and he was focused on his continued role as General Counsel. The company always acknowledged Jack’s key role in their success and he was so very proud and vested in the firm’s future.Jack is survived by his wife, Blake; their two children: Jack Wiggin Collier, Jr., and Rutherford “Ford” Walling Collier; his mother, Ellie Wiggin Collier; his father and wife, John and Irene Collier; his brother, Jay William Collier and wife Joanne; his sister, Julia Collier Humphreys and husband David; half-sister, Allison Elizabeth Collier; nieces: Claire Brennan Gill, Collier Eloise Humphreys, Anita Baker, and Angel Collier; and nephews: William Trevor Collier, Kinloch Gill, John Miller Humphreys, and Mac Baker. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, the late William and Virginia Collier, and Jack and Elinor Jay Ives Wiggin.Jack was a man of tremendous energy, vitality and he had a wonderful dry sense of humor. He was a devoted husband and father and will be painfully missed by his family and many friends throughout the world. Jack was a member of the Church of St. John the Divine, the River Oaks Country Club, the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club; and in Bermuda, the Coral Beach Club, the Mid Ocean Club, and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. A memorial service, to celebrate Jack’s life, is to be conducted at ten o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, the 26th of January, in the sanctuary of The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston, where the Rev. Dr. Laurens A. Hall, Rector, is to officiate. Immediately following the service, the family will greet friends in the adjacent Sumners Hall.In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in memory of Jack Collier may be directed to the charity of one’s choice.