Dennis Collins

1949 - 2022

Dennis Collins
May 5, 1949 - July 23, 2022
Fresno, California - Dennis was born to Bob and Beverly Collins on May 5th, 1949 in Taft, California and raised in the nearby town of Coalinga. A strong student and a varsity football player for the Coalinga Horned Toads, it would have surprised his teachers and the County Sheriff's Office to know he was also one of the culprits behind the Running Lawnmower Achieves (Brief) Flight incident at the town water tower and an unsolved case of cross-town streaking that was the unintended consequence of failing to verify that Terry Lydon had gassed up his car before departing â€" for reasons no longer known â€" stark naked to a destination long forgotten.
Dennis spent 18 years in the grocery business at Safeway, eventually making the acquaintance of nearly every living soul in Central Fresno and scaring at least one shoplifter so badly the confrontation may one day be retold as a supervillain origin story.
In December of 1975 Dennis became a father, welcoming Jason into the world, and eventually igniting one of the all-time great father-son sports rivalries. Fitting a seven-and-a-half-foot G.I. Joe U.S.S. Flagg Aircraft Carrier into the back of a Ford Escort wagon may have made Dennis the 1985 World Champion Santa-by-Proxy, but it did not bring the wayward Cowboys fan back into the fold of his father's San Francisco 49ers.
In 1990 Dennis made the leap to the Department of the Treasury, beginning his path to Revenue Officer at the I.R.S. As training began an exchange of notes and sketches (that would get you dragged into Human Resources in 2022) lead to a relationship that would become the center of his world for 30 years.
In 1992 Dennis married Marilyn Teresi of Los Altos, California, cementing a partnership that grew closer and stronger every year.
Dennis loved NASCAR, writing editorials for the Fresno Bee, and meeting new friends all over the western hemisphere. Alaska, Mexico, Indianapolis, Phoenix, or strolling Old Town Clovis: Everywhere Dennis went there would be somebody calling his name and laughing at his jokes.
Dennis was also a friend of Bill W. It can now be said proudly that working a Twelve Step program of sobriety saved his life and allowed him to be a better father, husband, and brother. For over 35 years Dennis attended meetings, embraced newcomers, and helped fellow trudgers find their own way on that path of happy destiny.
Dennis was a good dad, trying to instill discipline and a sense of order in a house with three adolescent boys. He was an exceptional grandpa, "Papa" to his five grandchildren. There was aways time to barbeque a tri-tip, build a Thomas the Tank Engine track, talk racecars, or listen to another story. Alongside his sobriety his love of his grandchildren defined his later years.
Dennis spent his last days chatting with his son and granddaughter, thanking his wife for helping him through his bittle with Parkinson's, and telling his family that he loved them.
Dennis Ray Collins is survived by his wife Marilyn, his son Jason, his daughter-in-law Cassandra, and granddaughter Kendall. Also, his step-sons Matthew and Philip Teresi, their wives Allison and Carrie, and their children Dominic, Alexa, Ethan, and Victor, and his fur-babies Boomer and Willow.