Alva (Al) Leroy Collins

Alva(Al) Leroy Collins,Jr.

Al Collins, age 81, died on August 15,2021. He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 54 years, two sons William Peterson Collins and Charles Wesley Collins and sister Patricia Estridge.

Al was born in Sanford, Florida to Alva Collins Sr and Gwendolyn Peterson Collins. After graduating from Seminole High School in Sanford, he attended Oberlin College in Ohio where he saw snow for the first time. He earned a BS degree in chemistry and then went to Duke University receiving a PhD in inorganic chemistry.

After a post-doctoral research year at Indiana University, he and Nancy moved to Hunstville, Texas where he taught chemistry for 7 years at Sam Houston State University. Having decided to pursue other career paths, Al then went to Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MBA degree.

The family moved to Washington, D.C. where Al did consulting work for the Department of Energy. He did strategic planning for the national nuclear weapons complex and wrote Environmental Impact Statements.

Al was an avid bird-watcher and enjoyed genealogical research. He and Nancy moved to Gainesville, Florida in 2007 after they both retired.

If desired, donations in his memory may be sent to Oberlin College in Oberlin,Ohio.

Arrangements for Al have been entrusted to the care of Crevasse's Simple Cremation, Gainesville Florida. Online condolences as well as fond memories may be left for the Collins family by visiting www.Crevassesimplecremation.com