Virginia E. Collins

ORANGE – Virginia Elizabeth Collins, 91, of Emery Road, went to be with the Lord on Friday, December 5, 2025, surrounded by family at her home.

Born on July 9, 1934, in Newton, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of Edward and Gladys (Conway) Emery. As a child, her father moved their family from Massachusetts to Vermont to reopen closed churches, at one of which she would meet her future husband. After graduating from Spaulding High School in 1952, she attended Nyack and Roberts Wesleyan Colleges, ultimately graduating with a degree in Horticulture from the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women in 1955.

Having met Albert P. Collins at the East Randolph Baptist Church, their courtship throughout college led to marriage on August 23, 1958. This love for each other, other people, and the Lord would define their lives of service, strength, and devotion in ministry. After Virginia served as pastor at the Orange Alliance Church from 1956 to 1958, Albert was called to pastor the Websterville Baptist Church, where Virginia would support in any and all roles, from Sunday school teacher to pianist, accordion accompanist to chalk drawing artist, gardener to choir member to youth minister.

Sensing a need for Christian education in the greater Central Vermont community, she and Albert began the Websterville Christian Academy in 1977, where she was a founding leader and educator. Virginia’s inventiveness, tenacity, and drive found her strategically and actively expanding the institution and its offerings throughout the years by creating key programs and activities that define the school’s output to this day. Although her official titles were junior and senior high school teacher (of geography, history, multiple sciences, Bible, art, and more) and Athletic Director, she likewise directed school plays, scheduled and supported varsity basketball games (having pioneered the school sports program), created the ski and skate partnership with local mountains and rinks, and was critical to the growth and expansion of the Vermont chapter of the Envirothon, North America’s largest high school environmental science competition, where her teams won and competed at the national level multiple times.

Although Virginia and Albert eventually retired from their side-by-side roles at Websterville after nearly 50 years, their careers were far from over. From 2010, Albert served as pastor of the Topsham United Presbyterian Church until Virginia took up his role upon his death on April 8, 2015. She faithfully and lovingly served the Topsham community until her (second) retirement in 2022.

Her heart for horticulture blended into every nook of her home life, with thriving plants covering the house and property in a multi-acre garden, where she raised strawberries and raspberries for market and grew a maple sugaring operation that has since become a fulltime family business. An avid outdoorswoman, she snowmobiled as recently as 2025, and was known on ski mountains and Burton Snowboards as the grandma who skied and snowboarded into her 80s. She loved spending summer days at the family island on Lake Eligo (including water skiing) and traveling to a variety of states, parks, and countries, including Ireland and Israel. Family and community mealtimes were her specialty: never one to turn away a hungry mouth, she was known for hosting dozens at seemingly a moment’s notice or singlehandedly providing homemade treats (pie or molasses crinkle, anyone?) to any gathering.

Survivors include her children, Gloria Doran of Elizabethtown, PA; Ronald Collins of Barre, VT; Paul Collins of Washington, VT; Linda Collins of Barre, VT; and Peter Collins of Doha, Qatar; 20 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild; and her brother, Edward Emery of Oklahoma.

In addition to her parents, sister Dorothy, and husband Albert, she was predeceased by her son Philip Collins.

Calling hours will be held on Friday, December 12, 2025, from 4 PM to 7 PM at the Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home, Barre, and a celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 1 PM at the Websterville Baptist Church. For a memorial guestbook, please visit www.hookerwhitcomb.com.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her honor to Websterville Christian Academy, P.O. Box 1, Websterville, VT 05678 or the Topsham Presbyterian Church Lift Fund, P.O. Box 61, Topsham, VT 05076.