- Date Of Birth: March 22, 1927
- Date Of Death: November 10, 2016
- State: Michigan
Passed away peacefully Thursday, November 10, 2016 at the age of 89. He was surrounded by family and in the arms of his devoted wife, Carol. He was born March 22, 1927, in White Pine, TN to the late Ira and Rhetta (Pack) Collins.
Bill was united in marriage to Carol Maxwell on January 15, 1951 for a loving 65 years together. Bill came from Tennessee as a teenager with aspirations of good employment in Michigan. He worked and completed his high school equivalency, eventually starting work in the Safety Dept. at Kalamazoo State Psychiatric Hospital in the late 40’s. Here he met and then married Carol. After the birth of their 2 children he continued to work completing his Bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in 1961. When Bill retired in 1988, he had been employed with Insurance Company of North America/Cigna as Executive Regional Director of Claims for the Midwest for 28 years.
He loved playing and watching baseball and golf in his working years and retirement. Bill was thrilled to watch the Cubs win the World Series! Bill is survived by his wife Carol Collins; children, William (Louanne) Collins and Rebecca (Mark) Fraire; 4 grandchildren; Matthew Collins, Mindy Collins, Allison Collins and Emiliano Fraire; 2 great grandchildren, Luca and Cameron; and several nieces and nephews. Bill was the youngest of five children and was preceded in death by his two brothers, Ernest and Glenn and two sisters, Norma and Edna.
