Kathleen 'Kay' Collins, age 91, of Regina, Saskatchewan passed away on Saturday, January 28, 2023.

Through 91 years, Kay Collins was a bookstore clerk, a school secretary, a nurse's aide for disabled adults, a medical clinic receptionist, a foster mother, a skilled seamstress of wedding gowns and school clothes, repairer of loved stuffies chewed by boisterous puppies, and a knitter and a crocheter of all manner of useful and memorable items.

Wherever she lived in her full life she made it more full by being active in her community. She was a member of the Kinettes in Moose Jaw, her hiking group in Sidney BC, and the seniors centre in Vancouver. She and her husband Jack had many close friendships over the years and hosted many a raucous party at their cottage on Last Mountain Lake.

She was an avid and curious traveller who clearly ached for the loss too early of Jack, the beloved husband she expected to explore the world with in their retirement. She often said she was travelling to all these places so one day when she saw him again she could tell Dad all about what she had seen.

But Mom was, most prominently and most consummately, a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Kay died on January 28, her daughters JoAnne and Lisa by her side. Throughout her brief illness, she was also carried in the hearts of her other children.

The family of seven children that Kay and Jack built: Rand, Janie, Arlene, JoAnne, Gary, David, and Lisa (she and Jack lost their first child, Donald, shortly after he was born) would grow to include 15 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. The first thing new strangers and old acquaintances would notice about Kay was her warm smile and easy greeting. The first thing they would learn about her would be about her children and their families. She wasn’t shy about her pride in their accomplishments.

After nearly a century, Mom never lost the peace of a long walk or a sweet summer day at the family cabin. Time had dimmed her memory of some of the mundanity of day-to-day life, but she was never robbed of the pleasure of knowing each of her children and grandchildren, even if the names of the myriad of newly arrived and rambunctious great-grandchildren became a little tricky.

She is very much missed. A service remembering Kay will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers a donation to Grace Hospice in Regina (www.williamboothregina.ca) would be very much appreciated.