Obit of Collins, Pearl (c452) - Delaware County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 12 Jul 2004 Return to Delaware County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/delaware/delaware.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Napa Valley Register Pearl Collins Thursday, November 6, 2003 Friday, November 7, 2003 Our beloved Pearl passed to final rest on Nov. 2, 2003, at Queen of the Valley Hospital, Napa, surrounded by her adoring family. That day was her 77th birthday and with the fervent determination that was hers throughout a vibrant life, she and family celebrated it while she was still well aware. Pearl was born in Colcord, Okla., on Nov. 2, 1926, to Bertha Mae and William Bazil Ward. The physician who helped her to that first breath and squall had come there across the state line from his practice in Siloam Springs, Ark. Thus the recording of her birth as of that locale became legal writ. All through life she was proud of having blazed a trail for what is now known as dual citizenship. She graduated with distinction from Colcord High School and went on to Heald Business College in Tulsa, Okla., where she matriculated with honors in accounting. In November 1944 she met and married then Army Air Force Capt. Perry V. Collins, after a courtship punctuated by his military duty visits to Tulsa, frequent phone tags and an intense love in bloom. Their ceremony was a simple one, officiated by an old-fashioned and kind justice of the peace in Oklahoma City who counseled her to never let him go. Perry at the time was on his way to a new duty assignment, after his World War II service in North Africa, to Hamilton Field. So it was, of course, the thing to do to bring his bride along. The trip together enroute was a romantic start to their long life of almost 59 years together. This beginning led to many varied and exciting military stations at home and abroad. Next after Hamilton, they moved to what is now Travis Air Force Base. By now they were a family of three, son Robert having arrived in 1945. For the first real test of her devotion and skill as an Air Force wife and mother, Perry was called upon in 1948 to take a squadron of planes and men to the Berlin Airlift. While he was away almost a year, she not only was raising Robert but rallying other airlift wives with activities such as lawn parties, kid games and card-game get togethers. After that, Pearl and family, which by 1951 had become five with the addition of Patrick and Linda, moved along with Perry to subsequent new bases. An over-the-years itinerary became extensive. Next in order after Travis were San Antonio; Dover, Del.; Prestwick, Scotland; and Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Then San Antonio and Travis revisited. Next Scott Air Force Base, Ill., from which they moved on to duty with the Spanish Air Force in Madrid, Spain. Meantime, with new addition number four, James, in tow, she again and again displayed that rare talent of being and showing others how to be the model Air Force wife and mother. She added up once and was proud to relate that by their retirement she had seen Perry and family through 28 changes of duty and station. Before their retirement, two final assignments took them to the Pentagon, and Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, N.Y. It was time then to return to the more permanent residence in Napa they sought when they purchased their ranch in 1959 on Atlas Peak Road. Their retirement from the Air Force in 1971 to that coveted hillside brought both stability to life with family and new horizons for Pearl. Having earned her license in real estate sales in Virginia, during their Pentagon tour, she transferred it to Crown Realty in Napa where she was in sales for some 15 years with Loyd Gularte and company. Subsequently, this led to a sales desk with RE/MAX, Napa from which she retired with an exemplary sales record. Pearl was admired by her associates in real estate for her honesty, incisiveness and integrity. All who knew her enjoyed her sharp wit and engaging sense of humor. In her relaxation mode Pearl was an antique collector, an avid reader, a sharp bridge hand and a cagey poker player. With the passing of key relatives on both her and Perry's sides of the family, she became the true Collins and Ward matriarch, living that role to the fullest and best until her passing. Pearl was predeceased by her parents and her brothers, Glenn, Crawford (Doc), Everett (Red), and William (Cotton) Ward. She is survived by her husband, Perry V. Collins, Col. USAF (Ret.) and her children, Robert Collins of Bridgeport, Conn.; Patrick Collins, Col. USAF (Ret.) of Louisville, Ky.; Linda Collins of Oakland; and James Collins of Napa; her grandchildren, Matthew Collins, Lt. USAF, of Del Rio, Texas; and Christopher and Jaime Collins of Napa. Also surviving her are Gerald and Norma Collins, Perry's brother and spouse, Carol Collins, Patrick's spouse, and her aunts Nellie Duncan of Colcord, Okla., and Effie Rockhold of Amarillo, Texas, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank Leslie Ann Grinsell and Regina Stanback Stroud for their loving presence and support during Pearl's hospitalization. Friends are invited to attend the visitation today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Treadway & Wigger Funeral Chapel, 623 Coombs St., Napa. Services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at Treadway & Wigger Funeral Chapel. The family suggests that donations be made in her honor to the Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 2069, Napa, CA 94558-9766. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Delaware County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/delaware/delaware.html