Pike, NH – Ronald Wesley Collins, 88, of Lime Kiln Road passed away on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at the Grafton County Nursing Home.

Ronald was born January 17, 1936, in Providence, RI. Raised in Rumford, Ronald graduated from East Providence Senior High School and attended the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a degree in Animal Husbandry. He worked for many years with the Whiting Milk Company as a field representative based in Boston, MA, and Bradford, VT. He and his wife Janet started a local Sunday School in Newbury, VT, and became founding members of the Trinity Nazarene Church in North Haverhill, NH. He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict, trained as a combat medic, and served at Fort Riley, KS, and Fort Lewis, WA.

He served in many roles within the Christian community including Pastor of the Nazarene Church in Leicester, VT and ran a community outreach center called the Fish House in Brandon, VT. For many years he served as a Sunday School leader, substitute Pastor, church camp organizer, and leader serving God and his Christian community where called. In 1975 he moved his family to Brandon, VT, and worked in the school system, retiring as the District Transportation Coordinator. Having a background in the farming industry, in his retirement years he moved back to New Hampshire and worked with his son on the Collins Family Farm in Bath. He resided in Pike, NH, and continued to serve as a Church Elder with the Grace Assembly of God Church in Woodsville, NH.

He is pre-deceased by his wife Janet, (2021)  and daughter Barbara Jean (1962) and he is survived by; two sisters, Marilyn Henck and Priscilla Horton; five sons, Malcolm Collins, and wife Sue, Paul Collins and wife Tammy, Kerry Collins and wife Laurie, Galen Collins, and wife Lorie, and Kyle Collins and wife Kasey; as well as 23 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Their love of children, family and those in need has been embodied by the numerous foster children, foreign exchange students and families that they have accepted into their homes and lives throughout the years, including Ge Wang of Seattle, WA and Irene Moiseeva of the country of Georgia.

The surviving family would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of the Grafton County Nursing Home for their compassion and dedication to their craft.  Calling Hours will be Friday, August 2, 2024, from 1 to 2:30 with a memorial service to follow at 2:30 at Ricker Funeral Home & Cremation Care of Woodsville, 1 Birch Street Woodsville, NH, with Reverend Alan Thompson officiating.

Those who wish may make donations in memory of Ronald Collins to Grace Assembly of God, PO Box 25, Woodsville, NH 03785.