Our mother, Mary Nell Wiman Collins, was born to Talmage and Lucille Wiman on September 15, 1939, in Roscoe, Texas. The youngest of three girls, she grew up on the family cotton farm, playing with her sisters and picking cotton under the blue West Texas sky.

Raised within a tight knit extended family, she attended school and church with many cousins, aunts and uncles. After high school, she enrolled at Wayland Baptist University where she graduated with a B.A. in Elementary Education. She then moved to Odessa, Texas for her first teaching position where she met her future husband, Bill Collins, also a teacher. After marrying, they continued their graduate work at Sul Ross University, each of them earning an M.A. in Counseling. Gifted educators, they enjoyed working together as a team to offer guidance and support to those in their school and church community.

After Bill and Mary Nell began their family, she left education to be a full time mom for their three daughters. She loved sewing for her girls and creating a warm and inviting home. A true listener, she opened her home to those in need of counsel and offered encouragement and love without judgment. During this time, her faith blossomed, faith that would grow deep and strong and stay with her for the rest of her life.

After their girls entered school, she returned to her teaching career and after retirement, enjoyed traveling with Bill and her daughters and their families. Being “Mammaw” was her favorite role and she played it well. Never one to shy away from a challenge, she was the go-to person for the whole family when an answer couldn’t be found. If there was a puzzle near-by, she would find it. She loved helping her grandchildren with challenging homework and even helped her grandson with a programming algorithm!

Wherever she went, her patience, gentleness, kindness, non-judgment and love created a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Her spirit continues to inspire us all to remember that each day is a gift and for us to live it fully. We will miss her witty sense of humor, her generosity, her wise counsel and her ability to make happiness no matter where she went. Her unconditional love and deep peace will live on in each of us. 

Mary Nell Collins is survived by three daughters, Carol (Jeff) Whitley of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Christy (Kevin) Rule of Bulverde, Texas, Carmen (Chris) Campbell of Montgomery, Texas; by two sisters Peggy (Jerry) Syrus of Benbrook, Texas and Patty (Bob) Compere of Lebanon, Missouri. Her grandchildren are Hayley Beth Whitley, Nathan (Savannah) Whitley, Abbey (Andres) Whitley, Chloe Whitley, Logan Rule, Owen Rule, Josie Rule, Ian Collins, Devin Collins, Lauren Campbell. Her great-grandchildren are Oliver Hidalgo-Whitley, Clover Whitley and August Whitley. 

She is preceded in death by her husband, Billy (Bill) Roy Collins and her parents Talmage (Tab) Wiman and Lucille Buckner Wiman.

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