Obituary of Evelyn C. Collins

Woodstock/ Cromwell- Evelyn Mabel Child Collins, 95, loving wife of Sigfred T. Collins, went home to be with the Lord on March 3, 2012. Predeceased by Sigfred in November 2007 after 72 years of marriage, she is survived by her children: son, Rev. Norman T. Collins and his wife Charlotte, of Rockford, IL; daughter, Priscilla C. Himmelwright and her husband James of East Hampton, CT; three grandchildren: Carol-Jean Burchardt of Rockford, IL; Sheri-Lee Wilkins of Omaha, NE; Kristin Forbush of Hampden, ME; seven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren Born in the Elmvale area of Woodstock, CT on May 4, 1916, she was the third of four children of Spencer and Mabel (Whitaker) Child. She was raised in Elmvale by her maternal grandmother after the deaths of both parents in 1918 during the great influenza epidemic. She was predeceased by her sisters Beatrice French and Miriam Bachand and her brother Donald Child. She attended Woodstock schools and graduated from Woodstock Academy in 1933. She and Sig were married in August 1935 and lived on the family farm on New Sweden Rd. until 1963 when they moved into their newly built home on a corner lot of the farm and lived in it for the next 37 years. In their declining years after a brief sojourn in Brooklyn, CT (Creamery Brook Retirement Village and Pierce Memorial Baptist Home), Evelyn and Sig moved to Pilgrim Manor, the skilled nursing unit of Covenant Village of Cromwell in 2005. Evelyn, with her husband, was a faithful and active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Woodstock. Her strong faith in God saw her through her life as a wife and mother. Despite total blindness, she was a homemaker par excellence. In addition to being a good cook, baker and candy maker, she learned to knit and crochet and turned out sweaters, mittens and afghans by the dozen. Over the years she also made and sold thousands of sock clowns and monkeys via the State of Connecticut's sales of products made by handicapped individuals. Evelyn's life was lived to honor and glorify her Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. A graveside service will be March 21, 2012 (Wednesday), at 10:30 a.m. in Elmvale Cemetery, Woodstock with Rev. Phil Cannistraci and Rev. Leon Engman officiating; a time of fellowship will follow at the Evangelical Covenant Church. A celebration of Evelyn's life will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 2 p.m. in the Chapel of Covenant Village of Cromwell, 52 Missionary Rd. Cromwell, CT with Rev. Glen Halvorsen officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations in Evelyn's memory may be made to the Evangelical Covenant Church of Woodstock, 24 Child Hill Rd., Woodstock, CT 06281 or to the Benevolent Care Fund of Covenant Village of Cromwell, 52 Missionary Rd., Cromwell, CT 06416. To share a memory with her family, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com