Alma Irene Collins, daughter of Arthur Pearson and Edith Mae Miller Pearson, was born Feb. 25, 1933, in Guthrie Center, Iowa, and died Jan. 30, 2017, at her home in Perry, Iowa, at the age of 83.
Alma attended school in Guthrie Center.
She was united in marriage to Vern Collins June 24, 1950, in Guthrie Center, and in 1962 the couple made their home in Perry. They were blessed with eight children.
Alma worked as a waitress at Fox’s Lunch and later worked at Darrell’s Antiques in Perry for 26 years.
She was proud to be a lifetime member of the Perry American Legion Auxiliary #85 in Perry.
She was a member of the Crossroads Church in Perry.
Alma enjoyed playing Bingo and going to the Casino. She also enjoyed the Guthrie County Fair and the Pearson/Miller family reunions as well as family camping trips and vacations to Texas, the Black Hills and Las Vegas.
Mostly she enjoyed being a mother, grandmother and a great-grandmother. She was a kind-hearted person who would help anyone in need despite the hardship to herself.
Preceding Alma in death were her husband, Vern; two sons, Jerry and infant James; daughter, Judy Mastin; and a son-in-law, Richard Randall. She was also preceded by her parents; her grandparents, Bengt and Sofia Persson and William and Lora Miller; brothers, Melvin Pearson and Clarence Pearson; and sisters, Velma (Dale) Moorhead and Agnes (Glen) Miller.
Survivors include three sons, Donald (Bev) Collins of Adel, David Collins of Perry and Jeffrey (Sally) Collins of Perry; two daughters, Connie Savage of Bagley and Beverly Randall of Perry; 17 grandchildren; and more than 25 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by one brother, Arthur (Shirley) Pearson of Rippey; one sister, Vi Brown of Grand Junction; two sisters-in-law, Vada Pearson of Stuart and Lucille Pearson of Lebanon, Ore.; many nieces; nephews; other relatives; and friends.
