Chester Tuttle "Chet" Collins III

1938 - 2019

COLLINS III,
CHESTER TUTTLE
Chester 'Chet' Tuttle Collins III, 81, passed away on August 5, 2019, in Gainesville, Florida, surrounded by his family.
Chet was born on August 1, 1938, in Miami, Florida, to Chester Collins II and Drucilla Gee Collins. As a young man, Chet's family lived in several locations, but most of his childhood was spent in Bartow, Florida. Chet, an Eagle Scout, attended Summerlin Institute for high school where he was the President of his senior class. He loved sports and was recruited to play football at the University of Florida, where he played four years as an Offensive Guard. He was also a member of the UF track team and the Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Chet met the love of his life, Betty Ann, in school at UF. They graduated with their bachelor's degrees in Education in the spring of 1960 before getting married in August of that year. After college, Chet & Betty Ann lived mostly in Lakeland, Florida, where they raised their three children - Carolyn, Chet IV 'Bo', and Cathy. Chet worked as a teacher and guidance counselor in Lakeland before moving to McAlpin, Florida, in 1979. His spent the last few years of employment in Administration at the Suwannee Vocational School in Live Oak, Florida.
Chet & Betty Ann spent their retirement years between their mountain home near Burnsville, North Carolina, and a family home on the Suwannee River in Bell, Florida, prior to moving to Gainesville in 2016.
Chet is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth 'Betty Ann' Boswell Collins, and their three children - Carolyn (David) Staley and Cathy (Larry) Brooks of Atlanta, and Chet 'Bo' Collins of Bell, Florida. He was a loving 'Granddaddy' to his five grandchildren - Chelsea & Meghan Collins, Christopher Staley, and Lauren & Lexie Brooks - and two bonus grandsons, Evan & Trevor Staley. He is also survived by his brother, Jimmie Gee (Irene) Collins of Aurora, Colorado, cousins, nieces and nephews, and numerous family friends in Florida and North Carolina.
Chet was a lifelong Florida Gator, an avid camper, and mountain man who loved attending bluegrass concerts with Betty Ann. At Chet's request, the family asks that donations be sent to the Nature Conservancy
https://www.nature.org/
en-us/
in his memory. A Memorial Service for family and close friends will be held at a later date.