JEAN AND EDMUND COLLINS

COLLINS, Jean M. (Delaney) and Edmund T. Jean and Eddie Collins passed away peacefully in their home in Newton on September 1, 2022, and August 31, 2022, respectively after celebrating 71 years of marriage in June. Being able to stay in their home all these years was their strong wish, which was made possible by their family and the wonderful assistance of their passionate caregivers. They met at a Boston College/Regis dance their Junior year in college and were wed after graduation in 1951. Eddie spent two years serving in the army, stationed in Baltimore. Eddie, a four-year varsity starter at first base for BC baseball team, went on to coach little league in West Newton for 18 years well after his sons had aged out. He then spent some of his spare time playing softball and flag football. He was a fixture at as many of his children's and grandchildren's sporting events as he could, there were numerous! He worked in the insurance business for many years before joining the USPS up until retirement. Eddie could also be found working tirelessly on the landscaping of their homes in Newton as well as Orleans. Since 1961, he was a devoted parishioner at St. Bernard Church. Jean spent the first 15 years of marriage raising the family of eight, volunteering with the Girl Scouts. She went to work full-time after their youngest child entered school. First for a sales company, then, at Babson College in public relations where she thrived in the fast-paced environment, earning her the Carpenter Award for exceptional contributions to the college in 1998. In retirement, she was active in the Newton Reading Club and a local book club. Besides dancing and cheering on the Boston sports teams, their great love was a day at the beach in Orleans with family followed by a meal out and maybe a Cape Cod league baseball game. They are predeceased by their parents: Edmund and Alice Collins and James and Irene Delaney; also their siblings, James, David, and Gerald Delaney, and Carol Connolly; as well as three sons: Michael, Kevin, and Brian (Kristen Collins). They are survived by their children: Gail Lennon (Mark) of Medfield, Robert Collins of Newton, Mathew (Scott Rasmussen) of South Boston, Janet (Linda Emmetts) of Jamaica Plain, and Laura Doherty (Michael) of Wellesley; Eddie's brother, Robert Collins of San Diego; grandchildren, Mark, Courtney, Connor, and Timothy Lennon, Annie and Jenny Collins, Logan and Parker Rassmussen, Gus and Isadore Emmetts-Lamb, and Brighid Doherty; as well as great-grandchildren, Ava and Liam Lennon and Isla Rose Benanua. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Bernard Parish in West Newton, Monday, September 26, at 10AM followed by interment in St. Joseph's Cemetery, West Roxbury. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute at www.mskcc.org or Boston Catholic TV at www.catholictv.org Burke & Blackington BurkeFamilyFuneralHomes.com

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