Jane Collins

Jane Collins, born Jane Agnes Purcell on August 28, 1924, in Woodhaven, Long Island, N.Y., formerly Jane Priest, died Friday, August 13, 2010, in Westminster, Calif., after a long battle with pneumonia. Jane had a sister, Florence; and two brothers, Walter and Donald. Baptized at St. Thomas the Apostle in Woodhaven, N.Y., Jane attended Dominican Commercial High School in Jamaica, Queens, N.Y., where she learned typing, stenography, shorthand, bookkeeping and other skills to become a secretary. Jane married her best friend Muriel's brother, James S. Priest, who lived next door to her in St. Albans, N.Y., at St. Catherine of Sienna Church on September 8, 1946. Jane had three children, Tom, Jim and Carol, with Jim on Long Island, N.Y. The family moved to Phoenix, Ariz. in December 1959. The family lived in Phoenix, then Scottsdale, Ariz., and for one year lived in Gaithersburg, Md., before moving back to Phoenix in 1968. Jim and Jane retired to Prescott, Ariz., before moving to Palm Desert, Calif. later. Jane worked as an executive secretary for many years, including for the Greyhound Armour Dial Corp. in Phoenix, from which she retired. Jane loved to sing and sang sometimes with her husband's bands when he played the drums. When she did housework while the kids were growing up, she sang around the house, to her favorite records like those of Brasil '66 and Ella Fitzgerald. She loved entertaining and parties and had a vivacious and engaging personality. She kept up with folks back East with frequent phone calls and letters, and occasional visits. For most of her life, Jane read two to three newspapers every day, as well as numerous magazines, and watched the news on TV at the same time. She loved to argue about politics and often had her letters to the editor published in local newspapers. Jane was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, Calif., which she attended with Jim and son Tom, and where she later met Dale Collins, her second husband, after Jim's death. In failing health in recent years, she moved to Long Beach, Calif., in 2008 to be near her daughter. As well as being the beloved mother of three children, she was the grandmother of Ronnie, Jim, Terena, Tabatha, Amara and Nolan; and the great-grandmother of 12. In addition to her husband of 46 years, Jim, she was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings; her second husband, Dale; and her son, Tom. She is survived by her son, Jim (Trista) of Prescott Valley, Ariz.; daughter, Carol, (Jim Berry) of Long Beach, Calif.; and her grand-children and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by Dale's daughters and their children. Send good wishes or donations to Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert, 72-425 Via Vail, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.