Obit: Collins, Kathleen "Kathy" E. (1947 - 2007)

Contact:  Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Collins, Olson, Mattson, Appling, Nopola, Porter, Murray, Karaisz

----Sources: Clark County Press (Neillsville, WI.) June 27, 2007

Collins, Kathleen "Kathy" E. (August 13, 1947 - June 23, 2007)

Kathleen E. "Kathy" Collins, 59, of Humbird, died on Saturday June 23, 2007, at Memorial Medical Center, Neillsville, after a three-year battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

She was born on Aug. 13, 1947, in Two Harbors, MN, to parents Kermit and Solvay (Olson) Mattson. Her early years were spent on her beloved Lake Superior’s North Shore. She attended Kelley High School in Silver Bay, MN. Later, she attended Chippewa Valley Technical Center in Eau Claire and obtained her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate.

She married Daniel Collins on Sept. 5, 1964, in Silver Bay and soon after moved to Milwaukee, where they lived for ten years. In 1975, they moved to Deerfield to raise their two sons, Tim and Todd, in a small-town environment.

Dan and Kathy spent many weekends traveling up North, as they both loved the outdoors. In 1988, they realized their dream of a log home in the country, near Humbird.

Kathy loved working with the elderly and spent most of her working years employed in nursing homes from Milwaukee to Neillsville, where she worked at the Memorial Medical Center Nursing Home for eleven years.

Kathy liked to travel and saw all but a handful of states. On occasion, she also traveled to Ontario and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Her hobbies included many kinds of craftwork and she particularly enjoyed crocheting. She also enjoyed collecting antiques, tending her many flower gardens and in later years she became an avid bow hunter. She loved to be outdoors in nature.

She is survived by her husband, Daniel; two sons, Todd (Crystal) Collins, of Deerfield; and Timothy (Pamela) Collins, of Mount Horeb; her mother-in-law, Clara Collins, of Black River Falls; two brothers, Edward (Jenny) Mattson and Martin (Diane) Mattson, of Beaver Bay, MN; four sisters, Sonja Appling, Sharon (Howard) Nopola and Margy (Tom) Porter, of Beaver Bay, and Kirstin (Pat) Murray, of Virden, Manitoba, Canada; five grandchildren, Amelia, Megan, Shane, Alec and Machaela; brothers-in-law Duane (Joyce) Collins, of Cleveland, OH; Dennis (P.J.) Collins, of Tucson, AZ; Dean (Kathy) Collins, of The Villages, FL; David (Sunny) Collins, of Fresno, CA; and Darrel (Judith) Collins, of Rochester, MN; sisters-in-law Joyce Collins, of Bakersfield, CA; Karen Collins, of Humbird; and Diana (Steve) Karaisz, of Fort Worth, TX; and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; father-in-law, Arthur Collins; brothers-in-law, Douglas and Dale Collins; and nephews, Kermit, Jason, Greg and Kris.

A Celebration of Life for Kathy Collins will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 1, 2007, at the Castle Hill Supper club, Merrillan, with Lance Rohloff presiding.

The Jensen-Modjeski Funeral Home, Hixton, is assisting the family.