Shirley Joan Wilkie Collins

Shirley Joan Wilkie Collins

It is with love that we say goodbye and mourn the passing of Shirley Joan Wilkie Collins on November 16, 2025. She was surrounded by her family and went peacefully into the arms of Jesus. She was an inspiration to all who knew her and will be missed by everyone who was a part of her vibrant life.

She is survived by her son, Kenneth Collins, and his wife, Teresa; her daughter, Linda Webster, and her husband, Guy; grandson Scott Webster and his wife, Catie; grandson Eric Webster and his wife, Stephanie; granddaughter Anna-Marie Mapes and her husband, Stuart; granddaughter Alexis Collins and her fiancé, Luis Moran; grandson Taylor Collins, and her great-grandchildren: Shiloh, BonnieCate, Louise, Conrad, Brynleigh, and Broden Webster and Owen Mapes. She was predeceased by her husband, William Norman Collins, to whom she was married for fifty-five years, her brother, J.C. Wilkie, and his wife, Jane.

Joan was born in Durham, NC, on November 23, 1930. She attended Wake Forest University and then Duke University School of Medicine in 1952, where she was one of the first women admitted. She received her degree in Medical Technology with distinctions and later became the manager of Lee Medical Laboratory in Richmond before earning another degree in education from VCU. She taught for twenty years at Bon Air Elementary School. She was actively involved in Bon Air Presbyterian Church and loved doing charitable and community work including RISC, CARITAS, homebound communion and more.

Her funeral will be on November 23 at 3 p.m. at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. The visitation will be at Bliley's Funeral Home - Chippenham on November 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. Interment will be at Dale Memorial Park at 2 p.m. on November 25. Donations should be made to Shriners Children's Hospital.