Rita Carol Collins

Rita Carol Cook Collins, 84, passed away peacefully Sunday, February 6, 2022 at Peach Tree Village, her home in Brandon.  She was born on June 28, 1937 in Lauderdale County, MS to James E. and Rita S. Cook.  She was a graduate of Bruce High School and the Mississippi University for Women and was a long-time, faithful member of Crossgates United Methodist Church.

She had a long career as a counselor with the Vocational Rehabilitation division, State Department of Education at the Mississippi State Hospital.  After retirement, she served as an office manager for a Brandon area accountancy firm and a served for several years as a volunteer for hospice.  Carol served on multiple committees at Crossgates United Methodist Church, including a delegate to The Mississippi United Methodist Conference.

She was a superb cook and baker, loving all aspects of the culinary arts.  For over sixty years she baked and decorated hundreds of cakes for family members and friends.  After retirement, Carol and husband Frank volunteered for museum exhibits that came to Mississippi.  Their love for the arts and Mississippi Public Television/Radio was extensive.  Carol mastered sewing, quilting, and cross stitch; she was always busy with a project.  Frank and Carol traveled across the United States by car and train visiting some of the nation’s most magnificent sites.  Many of their weekends and holidays were spent in Calhoun County, where her family was from.  But the one thing Carol loved more than anything else was a cat.  There wasn’t a card, or photo, or fixture with a cat on it that didn’t catch her attention.

Carol is preceded in death by her husband, Franklin Edwin Collins, Jr., her parents James E. and Rita S. Cook, and her brother Charles W. Cook.  She leaves behind her beloved cat “Amber” of Oxford, sister-in-law Estelle Cook of Oxford, nephews Charles “Bill” Cook, Jr (Kara) of Oxford, Michael Cook (Tammie) of Bruce, Emory Peak III (Mirna) of Mexico, Stanley Peak (Denise) of College Station, TX, niece Anne Todd (Bill) of Houston, TX and many great nieces and nephews.

Carol’s final resting place will be at Rose Hill Cemetery in Brookhaven, MS, alongside her late husband Frank.  Her graveside service will be at 11:00 am on Friday, February 11, 2022.  Ott and Lee Funeral Home of Brandon will have charge of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers Carol and her family request that a donation in her memory be made to Compassus Hospice, 3010 Lakeland Cove, Suite Z-1, Flowood, MS 39232 or CARA Mississippi, PO Box 231, Clinton, MS 39060.