Obituary of Louise Brady Collins

Louise Brady Collins passed away on August 22, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. Louise graced the world with her presence for 93 years, but she never did grow old.Her life as an army brat began on January 8, 1928, when she was born to Colonel Rip and Polly Brady in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and continued at army bases in Hawaii, Kansas, California and Texas, before heading to college at St. Mary’s of Notre Dame. After graduation Louise moved to Germany with the U.S. Army Special Services and later to Kansas City, Missouri, where she met the love of her life, John (Mike) Collins. She and Mike married in 1957, and over the next ten years added two girls and three boys to the family. In 1966 Mike was transferred to Deerfield, Illinois, where Louise loved to wear her fur coats but quickly grew tired of the snow, and in 1971, the family headed to warmer weather in Dallas, Texas. It did not take long for Louise to adjust to life in Texas, where she discovered that snow was rare and the Dallas Cowboys and Neiman Marcus were awesome.On January 12, 1987, Mike passed away unexpectedly and as she would do the rest of her life, Louise leaned on her Catholic faith to carry on. She finished raising two teenagers; guided everyone through college, grad schools, weddings and babies; got her master’s degree in her seventies just for fun; and traveled the entire world, including her favorite, a safari in Africa. In 2004, she moved to Fort Worth to be closer to her kids and grandkids. Longing for a social network in Fort Worth, Louise moved to Broadway Plaza retirement community in 2011, and at the age of 83, reinvented herself once again. She took on the role of welcome wagon and party planner, hosting happy hours and Kentucky Derby parties, pulling all-nighters to decorate the community Christmas tree and starting a Cowboys betting pool that would sell out before the season began. Her strength and her spunk are her legacy.We are comforted by the thought of a joyous reunion with her sister, Anna Barbara Sakurai, and our dad, most likely celebrated with a glass of red wine and a spin around the dance floor. Louise will be greatly missed by her many friends and her family, including her children A.B. Inness (Allen), M.L. Menefee (David), Elmo Collins (Lori), Bill Collins (Alina) and Jimmy Collins (Erica); her grandchildren, Kathryn Menefee, John Menefee, Max Menefee, Mike (Lacie) Collins, Jack Collins, Mary Collins, James Inness, Will Inness, Allen Baumgardner-Zuzik (Jessica); her great-grandchild, Ginny Collins; and her brother, Charlie Brady (Patti). We would like to thank Dr. Allan Kelly for his exceptional care of our mom the last ten years and the nurses and staff of St. Gabriel’s Hospice, who are angels on earth.