Loyl Hardin Collins, age 100, of Brookwood and Tuscaloosa, died Oct. 10, 2012, at Hospice of West Alabama. Services will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, at Heritage Chapel Funeral Home with The Rev. Gary Ward officiating. Burial will follow in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with Heritage Chapel Funeral Home & Cremations, a Dignity Memorial Provider, directing. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home.
Mrs. Collins was preceded in death by her parents, George Griffin and Alberta Hardin, her husband, F. Carl Collins, a sister, Lora Lerner, and a brother, Lynn P. Hardin.
She is survived by a son, Glenn Collins (Carolyn); a daughter, Dr. Carlyn Collins (Lee Hart); a niece and special caregiver, Jean Greenwood; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and other nieces and cousins.
Mrs. Collins was born August 9, 1912, at Saragosa, Walker County, Alabama, the oldest child of George Griffin and Bertie Ganus Hardin. She was a graduate of Livingston State Teachers College (1930) and subsequently received bachelor's (1948) and master's (1952) degrees in Education from the University of Alabama.
A schoolteacher in Tuscaloosa County for most of her teaching career of 42 years, Mrs. Collins began at Searles School in September 1930 at 18 years of age. In the fall of 1931 she transferred to Windham Springs School and taught there for two years, and in the process met her future husband, Carl Collins, whom she married in December 1933. In September of 1933 Mrs. Collins began teaching in Northport Elementary School. In September 1939, she became a first grade teacher in Brookwood Elementary School, where she spent most of her teaching career. The exception was a two-year period during World War II when she taught at Clanton Elementary School in Clanton, Alabama. She taught first and second grades, and over her long teaching career taught many residents of eastern Tuscaloosa County, as well as their children and grandchildren, and is still remembered as a favorite teacher. Mrs. Collins retired from Brookwood Elementary School in 1974. She recently celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends at Morning Pointe Assisted Living.
Always an active member of the community, Mrs. Collins was a founding member of the Brookwood Silverliner's Club. She frequently volunteered to provide remedial tutoring to struggling students, and was particularly good at teaching reading skills. She also taught reading to adults in need of this assistance. She was a member of the First Christian Church of Tuscaloosa.
Pallbearers will be Ernest Tucker, Jeff Collins, Keith Collins, Chan Garrison, Todd Johnson, Jordan Hunt, Terry Darr, and Larry Holloway.
Honorary pallbearers are residents and staff of Morning Pointe Assisted Living, Hospice of West Alabama, and residents of the Brookwood community.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to Hospice of West Alabama or to a charity of one's choice.
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