- Date Of Birth: June 21, 1953
- Date Of Death: July 8, 2018
- State: Iowa
Terry Collins, 65, of Spirit Lake passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, July 8, 2018, in Spirit Lake.
Terry Glenn Collins was born on June 21, 1953, to Glenn Francis Collins and Virginia Arlene (O’Dell) Collins. The family lived in Fort Dodge, Iowa where Terry attended public school and was a 1972 graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High where he lettered in Wrestling and maintained several teammates’ friendships throughout his life. He continued his education specializing in air conditioning and refrigeration attending school in Omaha, Nebraska with a few schools and family friends. Terry moved to Bancroft, IA in 1975 to help operate a new family restaurant/bar business and also worked with his father at Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa. He later moved to Forest City when he joined the RV Builder’s Management Team as a supervisor within various departments. After leaving Winnebago due to labor force reductions in the 80s, Terry held positions in management in a Missouri manufacturing company but returned to Iowa to help care for his father battling cancer. Terry eventually found his way to Spirit Lake-based Lake’s Plumbing and Heating where he worked as an installer and salesman. Terry left Lakes due to health problems but worked part-time at Oh Shuck’s in Milford where he truly loved it because he could be involved with two out of three of his greatest loves, meeting people and fishing. He loved getting kids as hooked on fishing as much as he was and went all out to make the “first fish” a memorable experience. His third love was bartending which lead to a huge collection of liquor bottles that would put nearly every area bar in the Iowa Great Lakes to shame. Though Terry never had children of his own, no matter where he lived through the years, he loved spending his time and joy, especially with 4th of July fireworks, making it special for many of his neighbor’s adopted kids and grandkids. He was an official extended family member to close Triboji neighborhood families and truly cherish the “foster family” friendship given to him.
Terry left for his everlasting fishing trip on July 5th after succumbing to injuries and medical traumas from a bathroom fall. He was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Virginia, and is survived by his brother Rick of Spirit Lake.
