Emily Inez (Melton) Collins
August 15, 1923 – March 22, 2021 (age 97)
Collins, Emily Inez – age 97, of Manchester, Tennessee, passed away peacefully under hospice care on Monday, March 22, 2021, at the Glen Oaks Health & Rehabilitation Center in Shelbyville, TN. She was born in Spartanburg, SC, on August 15, 1923 to Lonnie and Pauline Melton.
Since early January she battled the ill effects of having had Covid-19. During the last few weeks of her life, the nursing home allowed in-room visitation, and a number of her family members were able to visit and provide the loving care that she needed. To her, there could not have been a better gift at the end of her life, after a year of isolation. To her family, she was the loving family matriarch with a unique ability to accept each of us individually and to provide love, acceptance, and encouragement. She always welcomed family and friends with big hugs and smiles when they visited her, and there was always much conversation and laughter. She was an excellent cook, and there were many wonderful meals. She will be sorely missed by all of us, and her life is a good example of how Christ taught us to live--by loving each other, caring about our fellow man, and being forgiving. She knew and accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior and is now rejoicing with him in heaven.
Inez was preceded in death by Ivan F. Collins, her husband of 66 years, and her son, Luke Collins, who died in 2008 and 2013, respectively, her brother Virgil Melton (Carolyn) and sisters Ruth Bell (Toy), and Peggy Price (Richard). She is survived by her sisters Virginia Cox (Rudy) and Shirley Flinkingshelt; her daughter Brenda Harris; her sons Jack Collins (Beatrice), Kenny Collins (Debbie), Ronnie Collins (Karen) and Eric Collins, and Brent Myers (Amanda), her grandson, whom she helped raise as a son; 17 grandchildren; 34 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren and scores of nieces and nephews.
Her granddaughter, Kim Collard (Elijah), who lived nearby, was the primary caregiver in the last few years of her life. The family would like to thank the staff at Glen Oaks Rehab for their loving care of Inez.
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