Jane Collins was born on May 28, 1938 and passed away peacefully on August 20, 2016 at the age of 78. Her strength and strong will provided the means to live many full years beyond the expectation of someone with early onset heart disease. She lived in Mission Viejo, CA, close to most of her children.



Jane was born in Brooklyn, NY to James and Edith Walters. She was the second of five children, and grew up in a close knit neighborhood with many friends and family. She graduated from St. Brendan Catholic high school where she was well liked and was voted most poised in high school.



Through a group of friends, she met the love of her life and married her husband Richard Collins on October 8, 1960 in Brooklyn, NY. They began their life together in Brooklyn and moved to Bayshore, New York, with their three little girls, and added another daughter, and then finally a son. The family moved to West Islip, NY and her sixth child, another son, was born. In 1979, due to her husband's job transfer, the family relocated to Lake Forest, CA. This was a particularly hard move for the family, due to the increased distance from their large, close knit, extended family in NY. After her beloved Richie passed away in 1992, Jane moved to her home in Mission Viejo, CA, where she lived until her death.



She had a long career with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, working various jobs, and retiring as the Purchasing Technician, after 25 years, in 2008. She enjoyed working, and made many wonderful friends. The most meaningful job for her, however, was being a mother to her 6 children and a grandmother to her 15 grandchildren.



Jane loved dance and was a ballerina in her early years. She had said that she would have loved to pursue ballet dance, but her family came first and her time was needed there. Dance would always bring joy throughout her life, whether dancing with her husband Richie, attending ballets, or musicals and plays. She enjoyed traveling and had wonderful memories of many trips taken with treasured friends and family. She loved supporting her children and grandchildren and enjoyed attending all of their sporting events, school activities and milestones. They were her pride and her joy! Her family knew she was there for them at all times and for all things. Jane always welcomed her children's friends into her home; she was like their "other mom" - Mrs. C .



Jane is survived by her children: Pamela Scallon; Noreen DeMorgandie, wife of recently deceased Greg Berry; Susan Carter and her husband Timothy Carter; Lisa Raslowsky; Richard Collins Jr. and his wife Jolie; and Kevin Collins and his wife Tricia. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Sean and Kyle Scallon; Keith and DeLayne DeMorgandie and Trevor Berry; Michael and Nicholas Carter; Amanda, Jake, and Alec Raslowsky; Brittni, Makayla, and Bryce Collins; Keanan and Ian Collins; as well as her siblings: Barbara Ann Cahill; Senya Walters, wife of her late brother James Walters; John Walters and his wife Sandy; Donna Mastrangelo and her husband Ronnie; and her in-laws Joan Harsen and her husband Edward. Jane was especially close to her cousin, Sue Regnier. Jane has now joined her husband in heaven. Richard Collins Sr. preceded her in death on April 28, 1992.



Please join us to celebrate our mother's life. There will be a visitation held at McCormick & Son Mortuary (Laguna Hills) on Thursday evening, August 25, 2016 at 7pm. The funeral mass will be on Friday, August 26, 2016 at St. Kilian Catholic Church at 1pm. A reception will immediately follow at the Oak Knoll Clubhouse in Ladera Ranch. The family will attend a brief graveside interment before joining the reception.



Strong, Loving, Kind, and Giving – that was Jane, and she will live on in all of us!