Betty Lu Collins

Betty Lu (Willadsen) Collins passed away peacefully on Friday June 24, 2016, with her loved ones by her side. She was born on March 2, 1928, in Pomeroy, Iowa. Betty Lu grew up in Pomeroy and was valedictorian of her high school class of 1945. She took her team to the state tournament in basketball. She received a basketball scholarship to AIB in Des Moines and traveled around the country playing for their team. Upon graduation, she took a job with The Rockwell City Advocate. She became engaged to Ray “Ki” Collins in 1947. After marriage they lived briefly in New Jersey while Ray attended school at the RCA Institute and Betty worked in Manhattan in publishing. They returned to Iowa before their oldest daughter Denise was born in 1950. They lived in Humboldt, Mason City, Cedar Falls, Atlantic and Sioux City, where their youngest daughter Dory was born in 1969. In 1973, they moved to Clive when Ray became Vice President of Koss Construction. Ray and Betty spent many winters in Arizona and enjoyed summer family vacations in Okoboji. Betty was a lover of animals, an avid Hawkeye fan (all sports) and 40-plus year member of WDM Methodist Church. She enjoyed quilting, coffee, crossword puzzles, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and playing the card game “3’s” with her family.   Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years (Ki passed away in 2005) and 3 of her 4 siblings, Jerene (Bill) Clark, Gloria (Russ) Campbell and Bill (Doris) Willadsen. Her oldest daughter, Denise King, passed away in 2013 after a long battle with cancer.  Betty is survived by her sister Violet Oulman of Owatonna, MN, her daughters, Diana (Mark) Bourret of Grants Pass, Oregon, and Dory (Ross) Johnson of Clive, Iowa, son-in-law Gary King of Urbandale, Iowa, and special honorary daughter Carmen (Jose) Reynoso Pimentel of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She has six grandchildren: John (Carrie) Bourret of Glendale, Arizona; Christopher (Kristy) King and Mitchell King of Urbandale, Iowa; and Collin, Emily and Gavin Johnson of Clive, Iowa. She has one great-granddaughter, Ashton Bourret, and two great-grandsons, Asa King and Nova Bourret.   The visitation will be held at the Caldwell-Parrish Funeral Home, 8201 Hickman Rd., in Urbandale, on Tuesday June 28 from 5-7pm.  A memorial service will be held on Wednesday June 29 at 2pm at WDM Methodist Church (8th and Grand) with Pastor Cindy Hickman officiating.  Betty’s ashes will be laid to rest at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines next to her beloved husband and daughter.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the University of Iowa Foundation (Ray M Collins Engineering Scholarship) or the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.