Madeline Julia (Mcdonald) Collins

Madeline Julia McDonald Collins was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 25th, 1948 to Hildegarde and Malcolm McDonald.  She passed away peacefully in her home with her devoted husband Tom by her side on Monday June 10th, 2024 (198 days before Christmas).

Madeline spent her childhood in Brooklyn and earned a full scholarship to attend St. John’s University in Queens.  She later earned her master’s in social work from Fordham University.  It was while on her first job at the St. Vincent’s Home for Boys in Brooklyn, that Madeline met the love of her life and best friend, Thomas Collins.  Despite the refrain that they shared frequently with their children, to “date someone for a long time and get to know them before you’re married”, Madeline and Tom got engaged after only 3 months of dating.  After almost 53 years married, it’s easy to say they got it right.

After starting their family in New York, Madeline and Tom embarked on a great adventure and moved their 4 young children, two cats, two grandmothers, and one great aunt to Las Vegas, Nevada.  Madeline always described this period of her life as her time of greatest joy.  Despite the demands of managing a busy household, Madeline always found time to be the team mom, devoted volunteer, or her children’s biggest fan on the sidelines and in their lives.  In addition, Madeline was the caretaker for both her mother and great aunt.  She was the stable foundation of her family- deeply loving, compassionate and understanding.  Madeline was the first person her children called when there was exciting news and the first call in difficult moments when they needed love and support.

As her children aged, Madeline began a new career in the LV public schools, working as a clerk at Gray Elementary and then office manager at Batterman Elementary.  She paired her excellent skills of organization with her warmth and humor while interacting with the many families she served.  It was during this time that she made several important lifelong friendships that she continued to cherish throughout her retirement.

In their retirement, Madeline and Tom moved to Bluffton, South Carolina where they made many new friends and Madeline devoted her time to volunteer work, reading, and visiting her children and grandchildren throughout the country.  She loved to sit in her sunroom with a good book and spend time surrounded by the beautiful trees.  She found beauty and joy in the world around her and especially in those that she loved.

Madeline was the light of her family: a loving daughter, sister, friend, aunt, mother, grandmother and wife.  She was patient, kind and accepting.  She would hold a baby for hours, watch movies all day with a sick grandchild, or linger over good food and conversation with her family and friends.  She loved to read, laugh, cook, chat with friends and strangers, watch British tv, and order surprise gifts for everyone she cherished.  She never forgot a birthday, an important date, or to call family or friends in need.  She loved anything purple, Broadway musicals, Scotland, Zorro, a great mystery book, her cats, and her children’s dogs.  She embraced technology so that she could communicate with her grandchildren.  She was a lifelong learner, always wanting to grow in her understanding of people and the world around her and she had an incredible ability to accept and appreciate others who were different from her.

What a life she lived!  This quiet, brilliant, bookish young girl from Brooklyn swam in the Amazon, journeyed through the British Isles, cruised European rivers, climbed the Wall of China, and walked through the Holy Land.  But Madeline would always say that her most cherished adventures and memories were those raising her four children with Tom, watching them grow and start their own families, and spending time with the 13 additions to the Collins clan.  When asked, Madeline wrote “I want to be remembered for loving Thomas, Eileen, Suzanne, Tara and Sean with all of my heart. They are the most important things in my life.”  We hope that she knew that she was the most important person in our lives.  We will carry her forever in our hearts.

Madeline is survived by her husband of 52 years, Tom; children Eileen, Suzanne, Tara and Sean, her sons-in law Jesy, Josh, and Daniel; her daughter in-law Jeanine; and her 13 adored grandchildren Colin, Amalie, Brendan, Kathleen, Ryan, Lucas, John, Malcolm, Michael, Cole, Madeline, Julia, and Tobias.  Madeline is also survived by her sister MaryAnn Madigan (Dennis) and her cherished family.

A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, June 15, 2024 at Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 31 St. Gregory Dr., Bluffton. The family will receive friends beginning at 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, Friday, June 14, 2024 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd., Bluffton

In lieu of flowers, the Collins family asks that donations be made to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Web: https://bestfriends.org/donate