Ernest J. Collins

DENTON - Ernest J. Collins, 77, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, Del.

He was born July 29, 1929, in Smithville, near Federalsburg, the son of the late Thomas Sidney Collins and Edna Hazel Lyden Collins.

He was a Federalsburg High School graduate class of 1946. He had seven years of service with the Merchant Marines, leaving home when he was 17 years old. He was in the U.S. Army during the Korean War time from 1953 to 1955 while stationed in Albuquerque, N.M. He was a member of the American Legion Post 29 in Denton.

Mr. Collins retired as a heavy equipment mechanic in construction, and was a member of Local 542 International Union of Operating Engineers.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Angelene W. Wheatley Collins, whom he married on Jan. 27, 1953; a daughter, Beverly Dee Collins of Denton, and a grandson, Joshua "Ernest" Porter of Denton.

Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, at the Hill Crest Cemetery in Federalsburg with the Rev. Gordon Hayes officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Caroline County Chapter of the American Heart Association, c/o Christy Coale, 216 N. Main St., Federalsburg, MD 21632 or to the American Parkinson Disease Association, 647 Kensington Ave., Severna Park, MD 21146.

Arrangements are being handled by the Framptom Funeral Home, P.A., in Federalsburg.