Dan Collins

This is Dan’s story, told by his girls. It seems impossible, and sad, to try and describe in paragraph form and true grammar, so we aren’t. This is us sharing our insights, versions of stories, tidbits of facts that you always wondered about, biographic information and our huge effort for a tribute that would please him. Although he let us know, in his own special way, that we pleased him daily just simply because we are his girls.

Dan was born in 1942, in Battle Creek (“crick”, he called it) to Viola and Percy Collins. His mom married Clarence Sands early in Danny’s life, and Clarence became Dan’s dad, or as he affectionately called him, “the old man”. He was the favored child, and Danny could do no wrong in their eyes. He attended a one room schoolhouse till the 3rd grade and never complained about it; though he did share that he was not fond of the chores before school of feeding the pigs and chickens and having to eat rice every day for lunch. He refused rice in any dish. Growing up, always the spoiled one, he got out of chores and homework by being a jock and being popular with his classmates. He was awarded a partial scholarship for football to Olivet College, not academics, so he took the next best option and joined the Navy. Both his girls graduated with a BA from Olivet College, now known as Olivet University.

Dad and Mom were aligned in, not only the stars, but also on Crooked Lake, Delton. Both sets of grandparents bought cottages on Crooked Lake in the 50’s, which truly was a foot-loose and fancy-free time, a world of peace and no worries. Donna was the youngest of 4, and as she saw her siblings marry and begin families, she decided she wanted to explore before settling down. Dad seemed to be the one in the running, but he was going into the service for 4 years, so she decided and stated, “I only ask two things; return back to me, and don’t get a tattoo”, the latter of which he promptly ignored. His tattoo is scary, ugly and very large. Part of his tattoo has a snake, which he was petrified of, and passed this petrification onto both girls. He always sent mom with a shovel if there was any remote possibility of a snake while he stayed inside, navigating her.

Dad and mom were married on October 31st, 1964. Nieces and nephews always wondered why, why on Halloween? The story is mom was in two other weddings that month and that was the last date available. Mom thinks it was an easy date, so he would never forget their anniversary, and he never did. Most celebrating was done with our cousins in town, hitting the neighborhood for trick or treating and having a Big Mac for their special day. This year was their 60th and we were going to celebrate it in conjunction with our family reunion. He was very excited and, to help mom remember, we decorated their apartment all with Halloween inside and out. While decorating, mom asked, “how old are we?” and kissed dad. We stated, “The warranty was done at 50, so you're stuck!”

Once married, our parents settled in Parchment, but on the wrong side of G Ave where kids were bused to Kalamazoo schools instead of Parchment schools right down the road. Mom suffers with Crohn’s Disease, and she was one of the very first patients in Kalamazoo with said disease. She landed in the hospital for major surgery and long hospital stays. Dad was a trooper, calling us every day at Aunt Rosie’s to check on and talk to us. Working extra, and then visiting Mom. He did not know if his wife would make it, but he knew he had to be strong, have faith, and be a husband and daddy. Dad never missed a beat to take care of our mom with her disease and daily flair ups, which would later cause alopecia. He lovingly supported her wig choices, and hat collection, of which he coordinated with her outfits, despite being color-blind.

As mom endured her Crohn’s disease, they quickly decided they did not want their girls bused to Kalamazoo schools. The stars aligned again on Crooked Lake, and a neighbor was ready to sell her place and offered our folks an opportunity to purchase her home. Our folks were so excited to have their girls on the lake with their grandparents and share the life of lake living. However, just a small hang-up, they had to move in December and dad had to help labor wise finish the other house of the lady selling to them. Thank God we were a driving/trucking family that made it possible to get into the house by December 18th during a snowstorm.

Our childhood was just enchanting with our country-lake living. We had our grandparents in the summer, and all our relatives on both sides (especially cousins), coming to visit and stay. We were never bored or dismayed. Everything was wholesome and loving without a care or concern to be had; Even though times were difficult for dad, such as two back surgeries and a bizarre accident that occurred while trying to fix something underneath the car exhaust, resulting in a cut on his hand that was so bad that he almost lost the tendon in his arm. After that, he decided he was done being a mechanic. He endured knee surgeries and a couple times his girls gave him scares and worries with mounting doctor bills. The layoffs were constant while working at Fullers Transmission and eventually he decided to take an opportunity to work for the government since he had served time in the military, he became a Letter Carrier in Battle Creek. Additionally, he became Union President and thrived at this responsibility, in particular because everything, to him, was either black or which, and eventually he would evolve to recognize the “gray” in this world. He had a catchphrase; whenever appropriate, he would begin a sentence with, “In the Union…” and we would say, “we are your girls and NOT in the Union, so it doesn’t apply to us!” This made up a large bit of our childhood. Dad made every effort to actively participate in our lives, this would happen especially through family vacations; Disney World, driving in August to Florida going 55mph, so his girls could swim in the ocean and see Mickey. It remained his all-time favorite vacation, out of all the trips he made happen for us. His second favorite was Hawaii. We packed an entire suitcase of food so that the trip could be had; Vegas, cruises, flights to visit grandparents in the winter, a Daytona Beach time-share, Cedar Point, and many, many, more places. And let’s not forget the local casinos where he got free hotel offers.

Dad wanted to retire as early as feasibly possible. He wanted to travel and show mom the places he had been to during his time in the Navy. He also wanted to winter in Florida and, despite missing us, they made it happen for 10+ years. We worried that he would miss routine and structure, that he would be lost and bored, but we were very wrong. He loved being retired, and he actually let loose, became conversational, comedic and was an overall jokester. He thoroughly enjoyed not having to punch in for a shift and loved to do absolutely nothing. That was until Christine got a Shih-Tzu named Sawyer. From that day on he decided to be a Pup-Grandpa. Suddenly, his mission was spoiling that dog. Sawyer slept with him, sat at the table with him, and even had special dates to get McDonalds ice cream. Dad never cared much about fishing like his girls and wife did, but he made sure Sawyer was put on a Crooked-Lake-two-bluegill-filet-diet-a-day and soon became a fisherman and filet expert. Wintering in Naples, Florida provided the opportunity to enjoy the beach, and they rented in a community where many St. Ambrose parishioners friends also stayed. They were active with social events and yes, even partook in Bingo. They enjoyed their continuous pattern of and requirement of volunteering. Sadly, dad had an incident where a nerve was severed in his back. He came through during emergency surgery, but we had to face the fact that there was no guarantee that he would ever walk again or have use of his bowel and bladder. He had his girls to take care of, so he endured months of therapy and hard work and was soon able to return to Michigan to continue his recovery and therapy. They moved into Julie’s condo and were blessed to have Christine next door. Even with the pandemic, the lake flooding in Delton, and concurrent recovery taking place, dad and mom were always good sports and true vagabonds throughout it all.

After 52 years on the lake in their wonderful home, and mom’s dementia progressing, they decided to sell and go into Assisted Living. They never complained, and dad especially loved the socialness and the activities along with no chores. He found staff that he considered family and was totally, “in the know” and quite easily could be called a gossiper. He finally was out of his shell at 82 and was surprised to learn about his heritage with the help of Ancestry.com. We know and faithfully believe that he passed in his sleep, without any pain, exactly as he requested.

Daniel Collins, age 82, passed on October 6th, 2024. He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, his daughters, Julie Collins and Christine Collins, He was preceded in death by his parents: Clarence and Viola (Idalski) Sands; parents-in-law: Reynold “Doc” and Caroline Homrich; brothers and sisters-in-law: Jim and Mary Ann Homrich, Jack and Joyce Kimble, and Bill and Rosie Brindley. He will be missed by his wife Donna, his daughters, several nieces and nephews along with great-nieces and great-nephews, many devoted and faith filled friends and his “pack” at the assisted living residence.