Robert Deaver Collins M.D.

I was given the opportunity to know Dr. Collins while a pathology resident at Vanderbilt in the mid-1980's. Having attended medical school at UAB before residency I had already heard "Dr. Collins stories" passed down from the hand-ful of his previous students which were UAB resident physicians at the time I knew them. It was clear before I ever knew the man that he was revered, loved, and greatly respected by all who had encountered him while in medical school at Vanderbilt. Today, 30 years...

I recall fondly one late evening signing out cases with him at Vanderbilt hemepath as a resident. When I inquired of him how many cells does it take to make a diagnosis of cancer, he contemplated for a moment then quietly chuckled "Only one. But it has to be the right one". Another time we were looking at negative AFB and GMS stains for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time and I inquired how long should a pathologist examine a special stain and once again he quietly responded "...

Dear Mrs. Collins and family,
It is difficult to express what Dr. Collins meant to me as a student (43 years ago)and how that association has impacted my life ever since. I have the utmost gratitude for being able to attend Vanderbilt Medical School and at having him as my teacher/mentor. I have tried to emulate him in my life as a physician and will continue to until I die.

It has been 15+ years since those memorable organ recitals and pathology classes with Dr. Collins, but I still use the skills that I learned from him on a daily basis. His teaching style brought out the best from his students, because he believed in our ability. I am grateful to have been one of them. The world has lost an exceptional teacher, but his work lives on in each of us. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

It was a great honor to have the privilege to know Dr. Collins. His caring heart and the wisdom he shared will not be forgotten. Dr. Collins will have a special place in our hearts forever. Our thoughts and prayers to Mrs. Collins and family.

Dorota, Krzysztof, Claudia and Thomas Marosz

Unlike the majority of people leaving comments that worked with Dr. Collins, or were taught by him, I had the pleasure of meeting him years ago when he purchased the first of several vehicles from me. Dr. and Mrs. Collins were some of the nicest folks I ever had the privilege of meeting. And even though he was a very busy person, he would always seem to find time to call me periodically about things ranging from the car business to kidding me about my affiliations to The University of...

My deepest sympathies to Dr. Collins' family, friends, and colleagues. I am a VUMC graduate (class of 1988) and still vividly remember many of his lectures. He was the embodiment of the physician-scholar and a true Southern gentleman.

Dr. Collins' enthusiasm for medicine, history, and teaching were a tremendous asset to all of us. Some years ago he took several faculty colleagues and myself on a field trip to Arnold's Country Kitchen (where he was greeted as a favored regular). He then took us to Mt. Olivet cemetery to visit the gravesite of Oswald T. Avery, who won the Nobel prize for discovering that DNA is the genetic material and who spent his last years in Nashville. Dr. Collins read to us from Dr. Avery's letters and...