Joe & Sharon Collins
June 7, 2022, would have been Charles Eugene “Joe” and Sharon Collins’ 56th wedding anniversary. Joe passed away in December 2019. Sharon Kay Collins was a resident of Autumn Trace Assisted Living in Bedford when she passed in April, 2022.
To honor and continue Joe and Sharon Collins’ strong legacy of community and charitable work, the Joe and Sharon Collins Community Fund was established by their children (Tammy, Kevin, Doug, and Debbie). Tammy said, “my parents would want their giving to continue long after they have passed. They were God-loving people and gave us kids everything, so we want to give back to those in need in their memory. I definitely want their passion of serving to be remembered and, in fact, to be magnified in the future for the benefit of the community.”
Joe and Sharon Collins were born in 1944 in Bauxite, Arkansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, respectively. They both spent a lifetime serving and caring for others.
Joe Collins was an athlete who played high school football, basketball, and tennis. He went on to serve in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War on the USS Cunningham. Upon return from active duty, Joe was employed with Reynolds Metals Company, which is now part of ALCOA.
While raising his three kids, Joe could be found on the softball or baseball diamond coaching, or in the gym “coaching” from the bleachers. He was an avid sports fan; the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Cardinals were his favorites.
Joe had a passion for sports and a passion for helping others. When he retired at the young age of 48, after having traveled to Nigeria to open a plant for ALCOA, Joe found himself serving others in a local soup kitchen in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He loved to cook as that was his job on the USS Cunningham. He could host the best backyard picnics and was very creative with his food display. He was always the church luncheon coordinator and when the local sports teams needed a meal, they could count him in.
He always cared for the betterment of society. When a family needed assistance with their electric bills, completing their taxes, or just mowing their lawn, Joe would be there. He was hard-working, dependable, caring, and most of all humorous. Joe would regularly tell jokes or stories that would grab your attention.
Sharon Collins spent her entire life serving others as well. She was a registered nurse, who paid her way through college while Joe was in the Navy. She began her career in the emergency room, transitioned to orthopedics, and, later in her career, worked in geriatrics. Sharon was a hard-working, proud, selfless, managerial supervisor for many years.
When not at work, Sharon could often be found in her sewing room. She made hundreds of quilts, afghans, Christmas stockings, and dish towels for friends, family, and complete strangers. She loved to use her talents and treasures to give to others.
During her employment with the Arkansas State Psychiatric Hospital, she was struck in the head by a patient and her then poor eyesight became progressively worse. In 1992, Sharon received the devastating diagnosis of legal blindness. Sharon retired after 25 years as she transitioned from caring for others to relying on others.
Sharon loved to worship her Lord Jesus Christ and could recite many passages from the Bible even after becoming legally blind because the words were cemented in her heart and mind.
Knowing how difficult it is to ask for help, seeing despair in family members, and witnessing orphaned children in need of bare necessities formed a forever helping hand attitude in Joe and Sharon Collins. Although Joe never lived in Lawrence County and Sharon only lived here for the last eighteen months of her life, they knew the need for taking care of others exists in every community. For Joe and Sharon, the gift of giving is not about the who or where, it is about the what. The what is assisting others who just need help. That is what the Joe and Sharon Collins Community Fund will do.