John Iliff Collins 1914 - 2001

COLLINS, ALGER, NASH

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/9/2018 at 10:34:18

Mapleton, Iowa- John I. Collins, 87, of Mapleton died Monday, December 31, 2001 at Maple Heights Nursing Home in Mapleton.

Services will be 1 p.m. Thursday at Peter’s United Church of Christ in Mapleton, with the Rev. Bob Fritzmeier officiating. Burial will be in Kingsley Cemetery, Kingsley, Iowa. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 8 p.m., at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton.

John Iliff Collins was born July 25, 1914 in Kingsley, the son of John and Laurel (Alger) Collins. While working in sales in Nebraska. John met Elizabeth Nash, whom he married on January 12, 1938 in Kearney, Nebraska.

The couple moved to Sioux City, where John worked at Sears, managing the farm department. In 1943, John and Elizabeth moved to the Kingsley area, where John was engaged in farming. In 1946, they built Collins Locker in Kingsley, which they owned and operated. They bought the John Deere Dealership in Mapleton in 1950 and ran the business as Collins Implement until retiring in 1986. Elizabeth passed away February 15, 2001.

John was a member of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. John found satisfaction in his cow operation and enjoyed fishing when time allowed. He loved being around kids.

Those survivors left to cherish John’s memory include two sons, Walter Collins and his wife, Julia of Mapleton and Larry Collins of Sioux City, a daughter and her husband, Marge and Tom Senhen of Ida Grove, Iowa, 10 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, two brothers and their wives, Chuck and Francis Collins of Sioux City and Don and Gladys Collins of LeMars, Iowa and a sister-in-law, Jean Pool of Chino Hills, California.

Along with his wife, John was preceded in death by his parents, a great-grandchild, Alyssa Drees; a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law.