Maureen Collins' Obituary
Maureen Collins or more affectionately known by her husband, as Heaney, was fifty four years old when she passed away suddenly at UCSF Parnassus Hospital in San Francisco, CA late on the evening of July 18th. Maureen was born December 5th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to John and Mary Heaney. She was raised with four other siblings; Steve, Jimmy, Jean, and Barbara, who referred to Maureen as stub-o-kay, for her quality of digging in her heels, and marching to the beat of her own drum, despite others.While living abroad in Nuremburg, Germany as a civilian nurse she met the love of her life Anthony ‘Tony’ Collins. Before she met him, Maureen was under the impression that he was Italian and was very excited, only to find out he was a Brit, at a communal poker game. But nevertheless, what they found in each other was love. On November 15th 1985, they exchanged vows in a small church in Bristol, England. For over twenty-eight years they fought and loved hard. Maureen would make decisions about finances, children, vacations, holidays and Tony went along for the ride.Before hopping a plane to Germany to find a job and help her college friend with her children, Maureen attended Deaconess School of Nursing, and graduated (after spending a year outside the dorms for getting caught, ‘dancing with tom’, as a Registered Nurse (RN). She went on to spend the majority of her nursing career at UCSF Parnassus, Stanford Hospital, and finally Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. She worked in most areas of nursing: maternity, bone marrow, research, oncology, but mostly in pediatrics. Being a nurse made Maureen put up this unaffected front about the patients she came in contact with on a daily basis, but anyone who really knew her, understood how difficult taking care of sick kids was for her, and the emotional toll it took. Her patients impacted her in so many ways but she also impacted them. Because her son was born with a heart defect, Maureen understood how challenging and heartbreaking it was for families of sick children. Maureen did her job with both skill and compassion. She only wanted to work at teaching hospitals to stress the importance of proper education, compassion and to advocate for patients and their families. Maureen took pride in her job as a nurse, but she brought her own colorful flair. Others would be wearing basic scrubs and she would wear neon and pastel skirts (depending on the season), brightly printed socks, peace signed themed coats, and brought holiday themed costumes for her friends at work to wear. She would do anything for a laugh. If smiles could fund her travel habit she would have taken them as currency. Throughout her forty-year career in nursing, Maureen genuinely cared about all her patients, brought humor and laughter to her colleagues and students, danced her way through each shift, sassed her way out the door at the end of the night, and most importantly, did her part in making the world a better place. The field of nursing has lost a star, because they don’t shine any brighter than Maureen.The most important job Maureen ever had was being a mom. In a three and half year period she gave birth to her son Andrew Johann (1986), daughter, Jennifer Helen (1988), and youngest daughter, Alexandra Maureen (1989). Every choice she made in life whether it be her job, where to live, how to save, where to travel, was all driven by her kid’s happiness. Maureen and Tony’s move to San Francisco was based on getting the best health care for their son. They traveled to Europe each year so her kids could have a relationship with their family in England. Maureen worked night shift for much of her kid’s childhood so that she could be with them during the day. Every moment of her selfless life was spent making other people feel important. Each Christmas was filled with personalized gifts, huge surprises, homespun dinners, clapping after every gift, a discussion on a scale of one to ten what gift was the best and the promise that Santa is the one dropping off these thoughtfully purchased presents. Maureen was a tough cookie when it came to motherhood. She’d say, “I am your mother first and your friend second. That’s just the way it is.” And she was. But Maureen was the best friend her children ever had. She would give the shirt off her back if she knew it would make her kid’s happy. Going to college after high school was never an option for Maureen and Tony’s children, it was an expectation. And because of this Maureen was able to watch all three of her children graduate with an Associate and Bachelor’s degrees from various universities. Though she enjoyed seeing them walk across a stage the real symbol of their success was in the tassels they wore atop their heads while doing it. These tassels were a constant reminder of her success as a mother, that hung from her rearview mirror with her little elf figurine. Though Maureen was a hard nut to crack, and an independent horse that couldn’t be tamed; the birth of her children brought out a soft side in her, a loving side that only few who really knew her got to see.Maureen’s biggest passion in life apart from her family and friends was traveling. She would say that her home in El Granada was a travel destination all its own but, “We live here.” Every morning she saw the ocean, and every night she heard the foghorn in the harbor. She worked incredibly hard to maintain and create a home filled with color, crafts, tiles, chachkis, or crap as her loving husband so pleasantly referred to it. But apart from her house, the world was her home. She wanted to go and be everywhere. Maureen planned all the family vacations whether it is an exotic weeklong escape in Venice, a coastal pub-crawl getaway in Cornwall, an ATV and zip line outing in Puerto Vallarta, or a vodka and borsch adventure in St. Petersburg. No city was too small or country to far for Maureen to travel, though some were too expensive, and no event to inappropriate to make a family trip such as her daughter, Alex’s honeymoon which was very much a family affair. But to Maureen it didn’t matter, sharing her love for travel with those she loved so much was all she cared about. Maureen always said, “You only live once,” followed with “It’s just money,” to encourage people to explore and experience what the world has to offer.Her loyalty, laughter, compassion, travel skills, and love are what she had to offer. Three words to describe Maureen’s Life: LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE.Maureen is survived by her husband, Tony Collins of El Granada, CA. Her three children, Andrew Collins of San Mateo, CA, Jenny Collins of Redwood City, CA, and Alexandra Collins and Jesse Lee (son-in-law)of Montara, CA and Javier Lozano of East Bay, CA . Also, her Mother, Mary Heaney of Creve Coeur, MO, her sisters Barbara Heaney of St. Louis, MO, Jeannie and Don Birger (brother-in-law) of Edwardsville, IL. Her brother’s, Steve Heaney and Jimmy and Julie Heaney (sister-in-law) of St. Louis, MO, Her lifelong sister, Tamara and Keith Malcolm, as well as her nieces Elyse Julia and Hayley Maureen Malcolm, and her granddaughter Bryn Claire Beshears of Mountain View, CA. Including her family in England, David Collins, John Collins, Samantha and Amanda Collins, Jessica, Michael, and Chris Wilkes, Dill Keevil, and Pamela, Colin and Tom Fletcher. As well as many other family and friends from around the globe who will miss her immensely.Maureen is predeceased by her father, John Patrick Heaney and her mother-in-law, Jean “The dear” Collins.Celebration of Life: July 30th, 2014, one o’clock in the afternoon at: Skylawn Funeral Home and Memorial Park Highway 92 and Skyline Boulevard, San Mateo, CA 94402 *Reception is at personal residence and address and directions will be distributed at service or on program.A Memorial Fund has been established in lieu of flowers on Fundly.com Titled: Maureen’s Celebration of Life Link: https://fundly.com/maureen-s-medical-expenses-and-service-fund ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TOWARDS MAUREEN’S SERVICEDonations can also be sent to: Tony Collins P.O. Box 2461 El Granada, CA 94018
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