Bonar D. Collinson

Bonar D. "Jerry" Collinson was born in August 1913 and passed away peacefully Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, at his Paso Robles home.

Born and raised in Scobey, Mont., Jerry attended Rollins College in Florida. He worked for the Corps of Engineers and traveled to faraway places, including Guam, Hong Kong, and Africa. He was in charge of the defense perimeters in the Los Angeles area during World War II.

Some of his work was used to revamp several areas of defense throughout the world during the Carter administration and the Vietnam War. He received a letter of appreciation fro President Carter thanking him for his dedication and work during that time.

Jerry moved on to the General Service Administration (GSA) with a specialty in appraisals. After his retirement from government service, Jerry and a friend formed a company in Southern California that specialized in appraisals of commercial projects, such as airports, factories and large-scale operations worldwide.

Jerry became an expert in appraisals of nuclear power plants. He traveled the world while he worked on these jobs.

Jerry had a passion for history and a love of archaeology. He loved to share stories about his adventures to places such as Africa, Scotland and South America and all the interesting people he had met. He collected many treasures from his travels.

However, one of his favorite collections was of model trains. He had an elaborate track system complete with trees, buildings, rivers and mountains.

Jerry loved meeting and learning about people. He believed that "we each need to take responsibility for our own lives and that nothing is free. You have your freedom and the ability to balance your life."

He loved living in Paso Robles and having meals at Wilson's and Touch of Paso. He was active at St. James' Episcopal Church and the Paso Robles Library for many years. He appreciated his good friend and caregiver, Irene Wilson, who took excellent care of him in his last years.

Jerry is survived by his cousin, Hazel. J. Stabler. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas W. Collinson and Lily Dale Collinson.

There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Paso Robles Masonic Lodge, 320 Sherwood Road in Paso Robles.

In lieu of flowers, donations to your favorite charity are requested.