Ernestine Carr "Ernie" Collins

Ernestine 'Ernie' Carr Collins (1933 – 2024)
Ernestine 'Ernie' Carr Collins passed on to join the ancestors on Monday, May 20 this year, just shy of her 91st birthday. Born in Louellen, Kentucky her grandmother declared her "just a little cricket" and Cricket she became to family and friends during her child- and young adulthood in the coal mining camps of Harlan County, aka 'Bloody Harlan.' Upon her marriage to John L. Collins, Major USMC Ret. (deceased), 'Cricket' became Ernie, traveling the breadth of the United States from Kentucky, Illinois, and the Carolinas to Wisconsin, California, Hawai'i and Japan until the family settled in Portland, Oregon after retirement from the Marine Corps.
Ernie's curiosity, her passion for art and reading shaped each home she created in that nomadic military life – each new move brought trips to the library, exploration of local cultures, cuisines and educational opportunities from local elementary, middle and high schools to community colleges. She brought an artist's eye to all her endeavors: sewing, painting, cooking and gardening. Bouquets of roses, wicked good Brazilian fejoada, college survival packages, Christmas cookie platters, legendary pies, prom dresses and evening gowns, Halloween costumes, stuffed animals, and animal outfits for the science museum – everyone in Ernie's circle of family, found family and friends shared in the gifts of her creativity.
Once settled in Portland, Ernie never lost her passion for adventure and travel – hiking the Oregon shore and mountains, exploring the wilds of Alaska, the Great Wall of China or climbing the steps to Machu Picchu's Temple of the Sun, sailing the Greek isles, touring music festivals in Austria and Germany, glamping in East Africa – she was a citizen of the world. Her Portland home is a welcoming space: walls decorated with her paintings, shelves of travel mementos, books and photographs, surrounded by her roses and a backyard sanctuary for hummingbirds, bunnies, crows and other birds. It was there that she took her last breath.
Ernestine is survived by her siblings, Dorothy, Vivian, Dennis, and Bruce; her children, Gina Michelle (Tony Collins-Sibley), Tracy Elaine, and Dawn Leslie; and her grandchildren, Aba-Miles (Micah Emily) Collins-Sibley, Gaella Olivia (Kofi-Malcolm Collins-Sibley) Carpenter, William Hunter Perry, and Becca Elizabeth Perry. She is remembered for her beauty, her love of beauty, her warmth of spirit, hospitality, generosity and creativity -- but above all else, her capacity for love and joy. We are blessed to have had her as mother, grandmother, mentor and friend. We honor every choice she made to honor the dignity of others. We are keepers of your memory and celebrate this next stage of your cosmic journey. Ashé.
In lieu of flowers those who wish to honor Ernestine's life might make a donation to one of her favorite charities: Donate for Life Northwest; Legacy Health Services, specifically Legacy Good Samaritan Kidney Transplant Services; Meals on Wheels; Oregon Humane Society; Oregon Public Broadcasting; or Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
Crown Cremation Services - Portland