…Army Veteran, former Animal Control Officer; 74
TEWKSBURY – Walter C. Collins, age 74, a well known member of the Tewksbury community, died peacefully at his Tewksbury home, on Wednesday, October 23.
Walter was born in Boston, one of ten children of the late Davis B. and Elizabeth (Dundon) Collins, and raised in Boston’s South End. He enlisted into the U.S. Army, served in the Sixth Army, and was honorably discharged in 1967, having earned the Sharpshooter Badge and National Defense Medal. Walter lived in Wilmington, and moved to Tewksbury permanently in 1971.
He began his career as a bookbinder at University Press, and later became Tewksbury’s Animal Control Officer.
He was a well known and active member of the Tewksbury-Wilmington B.P.O. Elks Lodge 2070, and the Wilmington V.F.W., Post 383. In recent years, Walter enjoyed puttering around the yard, and shopping expeditions up and down the aisles at Home Depot.
He leaves two children, Patricia Haddad and her husband Ronny of Salem, NH, Timothy Wilson and his wife Donna Needham of Quincy; three grandchildren, Therese Wilson, Joseph Wilson, and Brayden Haddad; siblings, David B. Collins of S.C., Elizabeth Maher of Quincy, Barbara McKinnon of Iowa, Dorothea Collins of Manchester, NH, Judith Monterio of Wilmington, Susan Frongillo of Wilmington; numerous nieces and nephews; and was predeceased by his siblings Richard L. Collins, Stephen M. Collins, and Virginia Fyler.
Memorial visiting hours Thursday, October 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon in the Tewksbury Funeral Home, corner of 1 Dewey and 975 Main Sts. (Rte. 38) TEWKSBURY CENTER Ph. (800 in MA or 978) 851 2950. Burial will follow at Wildwood Cemetery, Wilmington. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or www.woundedwariorproject.org are encouraged. visit: tewksburyfuneralhome.com