Collmann, Colin Ross Conrad 1930-2024

COLLMANN, REIKEN, ROLLINS

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/7/2024 at 13:53:11

Colin Ross Conrad Collmann, 93, of rural Ireton, IA, died Monday, January 29, 2024 at the home of his daughter in Ottumwa.

Celebration of Life will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars, Iowa. Visitation with the family present will follow the service during a time of lunch and fellowship at the funeral home. Arrangements are with the Rexwinkel Funeral Home in Le Mars. Expressions of sympathy can be extended to the family through www.rexwinkelfh.com.

He was born November 25, 1930 to Henry Reiken and Christina Morrison Collmann. Colin married Phyllis Alvyra Rollins and they celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary on December 24, 2023.

Colin lived on a farm his whole life except for his military service from 1952 to 1954. He walked a mile and a quarter every day with his older sisters to his rural schoolhouse until the 7th grade when he could finally ride the bus into Le Mars Community Schools. He was advanced from kindergarten to the 2nd grade because of how smart he was and graduated from high school in 1948.

Colin worked as a silo builder and a trucker until he enlisted in the Army in 1952. He served as a Military Policeman at Fort Ord, CA during the Korean War. When he was honorably discharged, he went into farming and purchased the farm in rural Ireton in 1963.

He and his wife, Phyllis, remain living on the farm to this day. They do rent out the land currently. When the Farm Crisis hit in 1984, Colin and Phyllis both went into training to be able to keep the family farm. She became an LPN and worked at the Akron Care Center for years. Colin became a USDA Meat Inspector, traveling to different facilities for years.

Colin was active at the Plymouth Presbyterian Church, rural Le Mars. He served as a Sunday school teacher, a Trustee board member and as an Elder. He served as one of five committee members in planning the new building for the church although it is no longer in commission.

Colin served on the Farm Bureau and represented them once on a trip to Washington D.C. He was a representative for Hoegemeyer Seeds out of Hooper, NE. He went on an agricultural tour with his wife to Europe for their 25th wedding anniversary. Colin would take his farm equipment and help any neighbor in need over many years. He was active in 4-H in Le Mars, IA.

Colin and Phyllis took their family on almost yearly camping trips, mainly out West and once to Canada. During their retirement, Phyllis started writing books and self-publishing, so they started selling them at various craft shows throughout the Midwest. Colin never met a stranger and Phyllis always said he liked everybody and could talk to anyone about anything. He will be missed.

Surviving is his wife, Phyllis; their children, Cynthia Collmann (Tim) Wurr of Ottumwa, Kimberly Collmann (Don) Bonnett of Fulton, MO, Ronald Colin Collmann of Omaha, NE, Melonie Collmann (Jeff) Luban of Berwyn, IL; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandchild on the way; a sister, Frances Lake; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, John and Mary Rollins.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Cecelia Collmann Moller.

Source: Rexwinkel Funeral Home online obituary.