Ruth "Eileen" Collins Obituary (1929 - 2016)

Ruth Eileen Collins of Bloomington, IL, died Monday, November 28, 2016, at 11:32 a.m. at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center after a brief illness.Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, December 1st, and her funeral will be at 10:00 a.m., Friday, December 2nd, both at First Christian Church, Bloomington, IL, the Rev. Jim Warren officiating. Burial will be in Park Hill Cemetery, Bloomington. Memorials may be made to First Christian Church in Bloomington, Illinois, or to the McLean County Genealogical Society.Carmody Flynn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.Eileen was born August 9, 1929, at home, in Aurora, MO. daughter of William Corum and Christena Elizabeth (Cunningham) McNatt. Her family moved to Bloomington, Illinois when she was thirteen to be closer to other relatives. As a teenager, she worked at the Caramel Crisp Shop in down-town Bloomington, where she said Beer Nuts, at that time known as Redskins, were made. She graduated from Bloomington High School in 1947, and worked for Sears until her marriage to Robert B. Collins at First Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, on June 9, 1951. She and Bob lived in Port Townsend , WA while Bob was stationed in the Army at Fort Worden. They returned to Bloomington in late 1952 where she became a homemaker, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and caretaker to many. Bob preceded her in death in May 2013.Survivors include her five children, Karen (Denny) Huber, Carol (Tony) Cable, and David (Rose) Collins of Bloomington; and Janice Burch and Lori (Steve) Craig of Normal; one sister-in-law, Betty (late Kenneth) Simcoe, Ft. Collins, Colorado; grandchildren Brian Cable; Brad Cable; Andy High; Amber High; Kristi Collins; Mallory (Josh) Tinnin; Cody Brent Burch; Seth Burch, Trent Burch, Debbie (Shawn) Taylor, Evan Craig, Jordan Craig, great-granddaughters Sasha Taylor and Levi Tinnin; great-grandson Tyler Tinnin: nieces Susan (Mike) Hubbard; Linda (Jess) Gates; Mary (John) ORear; Jane (Andy) Roads; Nita (late Peter) Kwitkowski; Kyle (Jim) King; Diana Simcoe; Marla Kallas; Leslie (Dan) Driscoll; Sara Whicker; and Kim Marlow; and nephews John (Joan) Hill, Richard (Linda) Simcoe, and Stephen Simcoe. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and two sisters, Celia (late Carl) Bruaw and Lucille (late Irvin) Hill, and three brothers, William (late Betty), Lawrence (late Doris), and Robert McNatt.Eileen and Bob liked to travel and took many vacation trips over the years and they especially enjoyed their trips to Branson, MO. Eileen loved gardening, sewing, (for years she sewed most of her own clothes and those of her children), cooking, crafts, and especially genealogy. She was an active participant in her childrens activities over the years, including PTA, room parent, Sunday School Teacher, youth group leader, and she was the official family and neighborhood chauffeur. Her pride and joy was her family and she liked to brag that she taught all of the children to play her favorite games of which she was a great competitor! She spent years researching and documenting the Collins and McNatt family history. She accumulated and shared a variety of interesting stories from her research and personal experiences growing up during the Great Depression. Her family enjoyed teasing her about her many funny expressions, and there were many friendly debates over the correct way to pronounce her birth state, which she adamantly insisted was correctly pronounced Missour-a. Her grandchildren claimed her mashed potatoes were the best in town!rnrnThe family would like to thank the Hospitalists, especially Dr. Kevin Reynolds, at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, the emergency room, Fifth floor, and ICU staff for the kind and excellent care she received during her stay.She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. For years she was the adopted mom to the neighborhood children and, as she was the last surviving sibling in her family, a second mom to her nieces and nephews. We miss you, Mom, but we know you and Dad are enjoying a great game of Rummykub together!