Richard T. Collins

U.S. Army veteran, Raytheon engineerLYNN - Richard T. "Dick" Collins, age 77 years, died Sunday, March 22, 2009 at his home in Lynn. He was the husband of Mary Lou (Scheffler) Collins, and the son of the late C. Edmund and Eileen (Hurley) Collins. Born and raised in Lynn, he has lived all his life in Lynn. A graduate of St. Mary's Boy's High School in Lynn, he also attended Northeastern University in Boston and M.I.T. in Cambridge. Richard was a United States Army veteran of the Korean Conflict. He was accepted into the apprentice program at General Electric in Lynn before his career as an engineer at Raytheon in Andover, where he worked on the Patriot missile as well as the Hawk missile. He retired after working at Raytheon for 37 years.Richard was an avid golfer, playing on the league at Raytheon. He was a coach and former President at Wyoma Little League, and played for the Ames League in West Lynn and the Meadowlarks in Lynn. He also enjoyed spending time with his family, bowling, listening to music, especially swing music, playing the piano and organ, and watching his grandchildren at their sporting events.Besides his extremely devoted wife Mary Lou of 50 years, he is survived by his children, Nancy Mann and her husband Roger of Sudbury, Susan Moccia and her husband Stephen of Lynn, David Collins of Lynn, Mary Ann Grant and her husband Allan of Lynnfield, Mark Collins and his wife Theresa of Lynn, John Collins of Lynn, Julie Zahine and her husband Chabir of Lynn, and Jodi Langella and her husband Christopher of Johnston, RI. He also leaves his 13 grandchildren, Kevin, Kristin and Andrew Moccia, Katie, Thomas, William and Mark Collins, Tayla and Alexis Siracuse, Nicole and Charles Collins, Brooke and Brenna Zahine; several nieces and nephews.Service Information: Richards funeral will be held from the Solimine, Landergan and Richardson Funeral Home, 67 Ocean St. (Rt1A) Lynn on Thursday at 10AM, followed by funeral mass in St. Mary's Church, Lynn at 11AM. Interment will be in Pine Grove Cemetery, Lynn. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Visiting hours will be Wednesday from 4-8PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to KT/DA (Kidney Transplant Dialysis Assoc.) c/o Johanna Freeth, 112 Brookings St., Medford, MA 02115. Directions & guest book www.solimine.com