RUTH ETTA COLLINS

OBITUARY

            Ruth Etta Collins, 89, a longtime resident of Detroit, Michigan, peacefully passed away on May 27, 2020 after a long battle with dementia/Alzheimer’s.

            Ruth Etta was born during the depression, in Helm, Mississippi on September 26, 1930 as the only child of Jessie Lee (Thomas) Collins and John Henry Collins. When she was four years old, her family moved to the south side of Chicago where Ruth Etta joined Olivet Baptist Church and was baptized at age 12. She excelled as a student and was the first in her family to go to college. She attended Northern Illinois Teachers College (now, Northern Illinois University) and started her teaching career in Kansas City, Missouri, before settling in Detroit, Michigan.

Her resolve and resilience were unparalleled. She believed in education, realizing early on that learning is an ongoing process. As a single mother, she raised six (6) children during the mid-50s through 70s, encouraging them to aim high and pursue their dreams, while having her own successful career. Ruth Etta worked as a Special Education teacher in the Detroit Public Schools system and later, returned to the classroom as a student and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Wayne State University. Soon after, Ruth Etta was promoted to Principal at Trombly Adult Day Center. She also spent four years as Principal at Wingert School until her retirement in 1989 after 32 years.

In retirement, Ruth Etta loved cooking, traveling, and serving Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a member for over 60 years. She spent many years working with the Christian Education, Head Start, and Vacation Bible School programs and served for many years as President of Deacon’s Group No. 12 (The Peculiar Ones). But most of all, she loved, adored, and doted on her grandchildren. She had a style all of her own, both in fashion and in the art of the witty comeback. She gave so much of herself, her time and energy and she impacted many people in her life.

Ruth Etta Collins is lovingly remembered for her drive for education and the sacrifice and dedication to her family by; Her children: Roetta-Lee Smith (Patrick), Rae Lynn Carr (Ricard), Robin Sue Collins, Thomas Drake Collins (Scheree), Rochelle Marie Taylor and Joel Jerome Collins. Her grandchildren: Lynise Carr, Darius Collins, Mallory Fiske (Justin), Gibran Baydoun, Jernard Collins and Madison Collins. Her great-grandchildren: Cayla, Noah and Isaac. Her cousins: Veronica Gray (Marshall), and Sansurae Harris (Larry). Her longtime caregiver extraordinaire Rosalind Smith and many other family, friends and supporters. Her predeceased relatives, parents Jessie and John, grandmother Roberta Scott, aunt Sammie Thomas, uncles Fred Thomas and James Mason, best friend Jewell McLaurin, and others, all await her heavenly arrival.