Robert "Bob" M. Collins
April 15, 1934 ~ October 11, 2022
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Robert “Bob” M. Collins, a native of Wichita, partner in the law firm Collins and Collins, passed away October 11 after an extended illness. Through most of its history, Collins and Collins was a firm practicing in oil and gas law; however, it experienced a second tenure as a law firm dealing with elder law. Collins was a pioneer in the field reviewing the new Power of Attorney Act of 2002 and wrote a section of the “KBA Long Term Care Handbook.” Collins was a frequent speaker for bar associations and spoke monthly at the downtown Senior Center, church groups and clubs concerning the field. He served as adjunct professor at Wichita State University in their Paralegal Program. In 2003 he received the KBA Outstanding Service Award for commitment to the legal profession.
Collins nonlaw activities included service on Board of Kansas Newman, President Natl. Conference of Christians and Jews, Kansas Region, Knights of Columbus, and the Serra Club.Following his retirement, he gave regular presentations at the Larksfield community across nearly every item of history.
Collins attended Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin but toward the end of his experience there returned to Wichita so he could graduate with his friends at East High. Following high school, he returned north to do his undergraduate work at University of St Thomas, St. Paul Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Kansas School of law, he began his law career practicing with his father, George, in Wichita.
In his leisure time, he played both handball and golf. For many years he was a member of Prairie Dunes Country Club just outside of Hutchinson and loved to entertain his friends and out-of-town guests there.
If anything were to buoy Collins, it was time with his family. He had four siblings, and six nieces and nephews. Additionally, he gave many years of life to the care of his convalescing mother.
He was predeceased by his parents, George B. Collins and Katherine M. Leahy Collins; sisters, Dolores Collins Crum and Kay Collins Snyder. Survivors include his brother, Bernard G. Collins, of Wichita; and his sister, Joanne Collins Powers, of Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Nieces and nephews include Patricia Riley of Las Vegas, Janet Snyder of Morgantown WV, Mary McCarthy of Richmond, VA, Ann Snyder Rishell of Mesa, AZ, Susan Snyder of Chicago, and Rob Snyder of Marietta, GA.
The family expresses gratitude for the excellent care received at Larksfield Place Health Care Center.
Memorial services will be held on Friday, October 21, 2022 at Blessed Sacrament Church, 124 N. Roosevelt, Wichita, Ks 67208. Rosary will be prayed at 9:30 am with a Funeral Mass following at 10:00 am.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Katherine and George B. Collins Endowed Scholarship Fund, Newman University, 3100 McCormick, Wichita, KS 67213. Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.
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I was just out of the Navy and new to Wichita when I met Bob Collins in the spring of l975. Invited to a lunch with Bob and three other Wichita lawyers who , I was told, enjoyed military history [Eric Engstrom, John Pearson, and Tom Friedmann], I did not appreciate until I got there that Bob knew almost all of it. Our “senior member,” Bob could relate the naval battles of World War II like Samuel Eliot Morrison and could speak to the wars of Greece and Rome like Thucydides and Herodotus. Liking C.S. Forester’s series, we named ourselves “The Hornblower Society” and spent the next 12 years enjoying one another’s company at lunch, at Wichita Bar Association events, and at our annual “Trafalgar Dinner” at The Wichita Club. We stayed in touch in the 35 years since.
Bob brought far more than being well-informed to our gatherings. He was always a good listener, always patient, and always kind. While I was never his client, I am confident he was the same law in his law practice, and especially so when he made the significant change of direction to Elder Law. There, as both a pioneer and a skilled practitioner, Bob helped Wichita’s older citizens identify, address, and solve the many problems that challenged them.
There are moments in our lives that leave a deeper imprint than others. Of the times in Wichita that left an imprint on me–and there were many, a number involved simply being with Bob and the Hornblowers, buoyed by the sweep of Bob’s knowledge and by his limitless capacity for friendship.
Bill Sampson
Lawrence, Kansas