Obituary for Daniel J Collins
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021 Daniel J. Collins, husband and father, passed away at the age of 67 in Newton, NJ. Danny was born in Oceanside, NY, on November 29, 1953; son of the late Beatrice Muriel (Kelly) and George Richard Collins.
Beneath his large and impressive size was a unique, sensitive, loving, caring and loyal individual. A great conversationalist and storyteller, prone to exaggerating just a tad in order to grab your attention, Danny could always make you laugh with his quick wit, imitations and one-liners. He was so full of life! As a little boy, he was wonderfully mischievous and would sometimes run away just a little bit and have the whole neighborhood frantically looking for him only to be found right back at his house. When his dad would get home from work he would act like a puppy and bark relentlessly in the hopes it would convince his parents to get him his own real dog and it worked! When bored he would pop into the neighbor's house to play a little tune on their piano or obsessively watch his fish fighting down in the basement, activities that really agitated his mom.
In his twenties he travelled to Costa Rica and met his wife Helen; they spent forty two years together and celebrated their anniversary just this past December. While living and travelling in Costa Rica he learned to speak Spanish fluently, this would be quite unfortunate for his daughters later on as nothing got past him.
Danny was an avid music lover, he and his daughter Barbie would sometimes compete with each other to see who discovered an obscure band first. He loved watching movies and enjoyed documentaries, something he would share doing with his grandson Kai. He was very cerebral and was a huge fan and great at Jeopardy and enjoyed watching it with his sister Kath while they would reminisce about their childhood and parents.
He was always truly interested in anything you would talk to him about, giving you his full attention and making you feel so important. No matter what part of the country he was in, he always made time for a quick phone call or text to say I love you or to send a funny video. His family meant so much to him and it truly showed.
He is survived by his loving wife Helen, his two beautiful daughters Barbie and Susan, his sister Kathleen Ferruggia, his brother in-law Chas, his two brothers Richard Collins (Stephanie) and Stephen Collins (Ginny) and his adored grandson Kai. He had many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He will be greatly missed by all.
A Memorial visitation will be Saturday January 23, 2021 from 11 to 1 PM at the Valley Memorial Funeral Home 1012 Valley Rd., Gillette, NJ. Words of remembrance will be shared at 12:30 PM. For information and online condolences visit valleymemorialfuneralhome.net
Beneath his large and impressive size was a unique, sensitive, loving, caring and loyal individual. A great conversationalist and storyteller, prone to exaggerating just a tad in order to grab your attention, Danny could always make you laugh with his quick wit, imitations and one-liners. He was so full of life! As a little boy, he was wonderfully mischievous and would sometimes run away just a little bit and have the whole neighborhood frantically looking for him only to be found right back at his house. When his dad would get home from work he would act like a puppy and bark relentlessly in the hopes it would convince his parents to get him his own real dog and it worked! When bored he would pop into the neighbor's house to play a little tune on their piano or obsessively watch his fish fighting down in the basement, activities that really agitated his mom.
In his twenties he travelled to Costa Rica and met his wife Helen; they spent forty two years together and celebrated their anniversary just this past December. While living and travelling in Costa Rica he learned to speak Spanish fluently, this would be quite unfortunate for his daughters later on as nothing got past him.
Danny was an avid music lover, he and his daughter Barbie would sometimes compete with each other to see who discovered an obscure band first. He loved watching movies and enjoyed documentaries, something he would share doing with his grandson Kai. He was very cerebral and was a huge fan and great at Jeopardy and enjoyed watching it with his sister Kath while they would reminisce about their childhood and parents.
He was always truly interested in anything you would talk to him about, giving you his full attention and making you feel so important. No matter what part of the country he was in, he always made time for a quick phone call or text to say I love you or to send a funny video. His family meant so much to him and it truly showed.
He is survived by his loving wife Helen, his two beautiful daughters Barbie and Susan, his sister Kathleen Ferruggia, his brother in-law Chas, his two brothers Richard Collins (Stephanie) and Stephen Collins (Ginny) and his adored grandson Kai. He had many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He will be greatly missed by all.
A Memorial visitation will be Saturday January 23, 2021 from 11 to 1 PM at the Valley Memorial Funeral Home 1012 Valley Rd., Gillette, NJ. Words of remembrance will be shared at 12:30 PM. For information and online condolences visit valleymemorialfuneralhome.net