Cover photo for Lorna Collins's Obituary
Lorna Collins Profile Photo
1928 Lorna 2016

Lorna Collins

July 24, 1928 — May 11, 2016

Lorna Fay Collins, 87, formally of 41 Kiwassa Road, Saranac Lake, passed away May 11th in Washington DC's Holy Cross Hospital from complications of a stroke she suffered last Saturday. She was attended by her son, William Mark Collins, until her death.

Lorna was born in 1928 in Adelaide, South Australia to Ivy and Alfred Hannaford, a noted inventor-businessman in agricultural machinery. She attended school in the suburbs of Adelaide, and then went to work in the family business after the Second World War.

After marrying her high school sweetheart, Dr. Frank Miles Collins, Ph.D. in 1952, the couple and their son William Mark moved to Oxford, England. The family returned to Australia briefly and then, with their son Michael James, the family moved to Saranac Lake in 1965. Dr. Collins worked for Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake from 1965 through 1993. During this time Lorna was quite active, working tirelessly on the Village Improvement Society, the Ecumenical Board, and was the co-founder and president of the local chapter of Meals-on-Wheels. She loved gardening her whole life and did extensive gardening at her home at Kiwassa Road. Lorna received awards from the Village Improvement Society for growing flowers on community land simply to beautify it for passersby.

She and her husband moved to Washington DC in 1993 so he could work for the government as a Senior Research Scientist. Lorna was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Frank Miles Collins (2002), and her son, Michael James Collins (2008), who were laid to rest in Harrietstown Cemetery in Saranac Lake.

She is survived by her oldest son William Mark Collins of Atlanta, Georgia, who was with her at her death. She is also survived by two grandchildren, David Collins and Madeleine Collins, a sister, Gwenda June Dunstone, and several nieces and nephews.

Lorna Fay Collins was a wonderful mother, a devoted wife, and was noted for her strong social skills and attachments to Saranac Lake.

Funeral arrangements are in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A funeral service will take place at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home on Tuesday May 17, 2016 at 11:00 AM. Burial will follow at the Harrietstown Cemetery in Saranac Lake.

Friends wishing to remember Mrs. Collins may make memorial contributions to Doctors without Borders in care of the funeral home. Family and friends can also share their memories at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Lorna Collins, please visit our flower store.

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