Pat Lowery Collins

Pat Lowery Collins, 92, of Rockport, MA, passed away on Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Patricia Ann Lowery was born in Los Angeles, CA., October 6, 1932, to Margaret (Meyer) and Joseph Lowery. She was the youngest of three girls and was raised in Hollywood where she won baby beauty pageants and worked as a child radio actress. She graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in 1949 and the University of Southern California in 1953. At USC she studied painting with Corita Kent and earned a BA in English, pursuits that would be the foundation for her life as an artist and writer.

As a young actress entertaining the troops at an LA Officers Club, Pat met and fell in love with Marine Captain Wallace Curtis Collins. They married in 1953 and raised five children, first settling in Rolling Hills, CA, then moving to Lexington, MA in 1961. In 1966 they bought a house on Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, MA, and spent more than 50 summers there. They would move to Basking Ridge, NJ and Nashua, NH but they always returned to the beach house and would eventually retire there year-round. They were married for 62 years. They were the kind of Parents who made sure their children had a big back yard, a jungle gym, a neighborhood where they could bike, sled, and play street hockey, and a town with the best schools, a rec center, and fluoride in the water. At the beach they taught us to play tennis and sail and let us fish and dive and explore. But it was Pat who encouraged her children and grandchildren to write and share stories. She was the best listener and school essay editor any kid could have. Above all she was excited for any adventure you cooked up, helped make it happen, and made you confident in your dreams.

Throughout her life Pat embraced all aspects of the arts. She sang soprano for Our Lady of Good Voyage Church choir in Gloucester and for the Cantemus Chamber Chorus of the North Shore. She published poetry and was recognized as a Gloucester Poet laureate. She wrote and illustrated children's books, young adult novels, and historical fiction, twice winning awards from the Boston Authors Club in 2004 and 2010. She was a two time Reading Rainbow selection for "I Am An Artist." Her children's books "Schooner" and "The Deer Watch" were inspired by the Cape Ann land and seascape. She was on the faculty of the Worcester Art Museum and the Lesley University MFA program in creative writing. She cherished mentoring young writers and colleagues in her Poetry group.

Pat painted in her Gloucester studio, and later the Pen and Brush Gallery in Rockport. Where once she was commissioned to paint portraits and nudes she became fascinated with rock formations along the beach and began to explore their beauty and power in pastel and oil paint. She has shown her paintings in juried shows throughout New England and they hang in private collections, the Rockport Town Hall, and the Cape Ann Museum.

Pat was predeceased by her husband Wally in 2016 and her eldest son Christopher in 2020. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Kimberly Collins Jermain, Colleen Collins, MD, Cathlin and Bob Smith, Mathias Collins and Jennifer Mallette. She leaves seven grandsons: Aaron Ocean, Colin Jermain, Nate Jermain, Lincoln Collins, Patrick Smith, Timothy Smith, and Ellis Collins. A celebration of her life and artistry will be hosted at the Jane Deering Gallery in August 2026. Donations in her memory can be made to the Cape Ann Museum (CAM), 27 Pleasant St., Gloucester, MA 01930, capeannmuseum.org.