OBITUARY
COLLINS
Maude Ellen
May 30, 1929 - January 22, 2017

Maude Ellen Collins (nee Gale) passed away, her daughter Gail by her side, in the early hours of January 22, 2017, at Lakeside Homes in Gander, after a decade-long struggle with the illness known as “the long good-bye.” Maude was born to Elizabeth (Gavin) and Alexander Gale in her beloved (now resettled) Pomley Cove, White Bay. She is predeceased by her husband Willis, her sisters Mariah and Margaret (Clarence) Rice, her brother Arthur (surviving wife Doreen), her great-niece Kira Ricketts, her mother- and father-in-law Naomi and Robert Collins, her sister-in-law Alice (George) Way and brother-in-law Pearce (Winnie) Collins. Maude was a loving mother to Gail Collins and Elizabeth Lewis and aunt to many nieces and nephews, their children and grandchildren. She was also a good friend to many people in many places throughout her lifetime. Maude was also a teacher and mentor to generations of children. A passionate educator, she began her teaching career just out of high school herself—as a 17-year-old in a sole-charge, multi-grade school in Newport, Bonavista Bay. She went on to complete a year at the then Memorial College and finished her degree while raising a family, teaching full-time and serving as a volunteer on many committees in her church and her community. She also taught in St. Anthony, Hare Bay and Dover—where she was the principal of the elementary school and vice-principal of the new combined high school and elementary, William Mercer Academy.After retiring from the regular school system, Maude missed teaching so she went back to work for the Central Newfoundland Community College (now part of the College of the North Atlantic), ending her career teaching adults involved in the fishery in Eastport. Maude was an enthusiastic, kind, fun-loving individual who brightened the lives of those around her and tried to help whoever and whenever she could. The family would like to thank the staff of Lakeside for the care and kindness they’ve shown Maude over her long stay. Their jobs are difficult and they perform them with compassion and grace.