Robert H. "Bob" Collier

Robert H. Bob Collier Jr. POST-Robert H. Bob Collier, the longtime owner of Bob Collier Drug of Post, Texas, passed away on Friday afternoon, June 28. Bob Collier was born on May 12, 1924, in Post, Texas. He was the youngest of three children of Robert H. Doc Collier Sr. and Ida Thomas Collier. In 1931, Bobby, as he was known then, had his first movie date with Mattie Stone after she played Martha to his George Washington in the second grade play. This date would lead to a lifelong partnership and marriage. Bob was a 1941 graduate of Post High School, Post, Texas. After attending Texas Tech College for one year he transferred to The University of Texas to study pharmacology and seek a degree in pharmacy. At the University of Texas he was a founding member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. While at the University of Texas he became a lifelong loyal fan and supporter of Longhorn Football. His blood ran orange. In 1943 Collier was drafted into the United States Army to serve in World War II. Quickly rising to the rank of sergeant, he was appointed head of the medical laboratories at both Foster General Hospital in Jackson, Miss., and later at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. These hospitals served as rehabilitation hospitals for wounded soldiers returning from the battlefield of the European Theater. With his pharmaceutical background, Collier participated in early test experiments as to the effectiveness of a new drug, penicillin, and its effectiveness in preventing infection. While stationed in Jackson, Miss., he returned home in January of 1945 and proposed to Mattie Stone on a Thursday; they married on Saturday, Jan. 22. The couple was married at First Methodist Church, Post, Texas, the home church for them both. After World War II the couple returned to Austin, Texas, for Collier to finish his degree in pharmacy. He graduated with that degree from the University of Texas in 1948. After graduation from college the Colliers returned to Post, Texas, to open Bob Collier Drug. The original Collier Drug was established in Post, Texas, in 1908 by his father, Doc Collier, and was one of the first privately owned businesses in Post. Bob Collier Drug quickly became a social center for the community, all based around the drug store fountain. It was this fountain that gave hundreds of Post High School students their first job. Stopping by the drug store, not only for your medical needs, but also for a cup of coffee or an ice cream soda, became a Post, Texas, tradition. Mattie and Bob Collier quickly became integrated again in their home town, rejoining First Methodist Church. He also became a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Rotary Club. In 1959, Bob Collier became the president of the West Texas Pharmaceutical Association, and in 1965 he was elected as president of the Texas Pharmaceutical Association. These years were very exciting ones for him, with the advent of all sorts of new medications, such as the wide spread use of penicillin and the invention and distribution of the polio vaccine. In 1963 he was elected to the City Council of Post, Texas, where he served as alderman for six years. Bob Collier served as the local representative of the Salvation Army from 1948 till 2005. In 2005 he retired and closed the doors to Bob Collier Drug. Collier Drug and Bob Collier were in business for 94 years making it one of the longest operating family owned drug store in Texas. He was also a stockbroker for EGT for many years. The Blooming Drug Store, a personal memoir of Bob Collier's life in the drug store and his life in Post, Texas, was published in 2007. Robert H. Bob Collier passed away on June 28 at the age of 89. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mattie Stone Collier, and his daughter, DiAnna Collier. He is survived by his son, Don Collier of Lubbock, Texas; and three grandchildren, Will Collier of Orlando, Fla., Kate Collier of Dallas, Texas, and Tim Hartsuck of Lubbock, Texas. A visitation will be held on Sunday, June 30, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Hudman's Funeral Home, 615 W. Main Street, Post, TX. Graveside services will follow on Monday, July 1, at 10 a.m. at Terrace Cemetery in Post, Texas. The family has requested that memorials in his honor be made to First United Methodist Church, Post, Texas.