Tom Carter Collins, Jr.

Tom Carter Collins, Jr., 82, passed away on February 3, 2021.  He was born on April 20, 1938, in Oklahoma City, OK, to Thomas and Grace Collins.

Tom’s dad was not in his life much, so Tom promised himself that he would be a better father than his own when he had a family.  Tom was raised by a hard-working, single mom.  He started misbehaving, so she sent him to military school for a few years, and he said this was the best thing she could have done for him because it made him respect adults.  Tom married Patrice Banard on June 5, 1960.  They were married 55 years when she passed away five years ago, and he missed her every day.  He was a quiet man, but if he got mad and ever called you friend, you were not his friend at that time.   He believed the only way to stop a chain of events was to start with yourself.  He would say, “If you don’t like the way someone is iterating you kill them with kindness because kindness can change bad into good.”

As a kid, we had a little land in Garland, Texas, and every Sunday after church, we had a baseball game in the backyard, and the neighbors would all come down, and we would play until dark. Tom loved spending time with his kids and grandkids more than anything.   He taught his oldest daughter to ride a bicycle; he would shave off his beard and mustache so he could get kisses from his great-granddaughter (even though his wife loved his beard and mustache); he taught several of his grandkids to drive a standard in his little Nissan truck; and one granddaughter was saved one Sunday because the preacher compared a relationship with God to the feeling you get when you are wrapped in the arms of a loved one, and Papa always wrapped his arms around her when she crawled up in his lap.  Tom will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his daughters Ann Edomdson and Sharon Tucker; 10 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and three great-great- grandchildren.

Tom is preceded in death by his father Thomas Collins, Sr.; mother Grace Collins; a twin sister who died at birth; wife Patrica Collins; son Tommy Collins; grandson Jared Greene; and grandson PFC Claude Hawn (Army.)

Bro. Ed Shauer with the First Church of the Nazarene in Gun Barrel City, Texas, will officiate for the Collins, Jr. family.