Charles Collins "Collin" Hart

What a blessing! Loving Collin Hart and knowing that he was loved by so many others has strengthened his family. He was born August 21, 1984 in Fort Worth then moved to Mansfield by his third birthday. His variety of interests and lust for learning led his fourth grade teacher to call him a “Renaissance Man”.

Collin enjoyed all things associated with sports but excelled in tennis. He led his high school team to district championships then led them to the USA Team Tennis National Championship. He played and lettered in tennis at TCU. He developed many lasting friendships through tennis, especially with numerous doubles partners. He practiced so many “special” shots that it seems his communication with his doubles partner was often “watch this!” He loved teaching junior players at camps and giving hints to his partners. But if tennis was his specialty, sailing was probably not. His first sailing adventure at 5 resulted in our crash due to bad weather. He asked his mom, “are we going to die?” He quickly learned that we don’t share the stories of these trips with our grandmothers. A week of sailing in the BVI taught us that while he wasn’t a natural sailor, he married a great sailor. And he wasn’t much of a hunter, admitting to his St. Louis relatives that he had only shot tin cans in West Texas. Then there were alligators in Louisiana (but they may have been tied up).

Collin was a voracious reader. As a youngster it was the Star Telegram, Zoobooks and sports magazines. Much of this reading was while taking a bath so he had large stacks of soggy magazines that he reread when they dried. But by adulthood, he consumed the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, weekly business magazines and countless business and political blogs and online posts. We often received multiple daily updates with a link to the latest breaking news or policy update. He could talk to almost anyone about most subjects and learn something new while he imparted his well-founded knowledge.

His love of history included that of West Texas, his dad’s original home. When we asked about a Christmas present one year, he wanted a copy of an old property map that was used by his great granddad. He often joked (we hoped) about retiring really early to family land on the Pecos River. Although we assured him that the Pecos had low flow and no trees, he was determined that it would be a beautiful place to retire.

Travel was another highlight for Collin. He made friends in Mexico, Germany, Ireland, and Spain. He always made himself at home with these friends and their families. He loved to visit new countries but usually knew more about the country, its government and history than his more senior travelling partners. But he didn’t leave his sports behind when he traveled. He and Maggie HAD to find the TCU World Series games when in Istanbul, we HAD to find a sports bar for the NBA finals in Jackson Hole (Collin was 12) and we HAD to watch a cricket match in Bath, England. And there were trips to Wimbledon, the US Open and Davis Cup Finals where sports not the location were the travel reason. One long RV trip to Yellowstone taught us that hotels were his favorite camping location. Although he travelled extensively, he continued to love West Texas, the Wahl’s farm, St. Louis, Pacific, Mo. and New York City.

Collin married Maggie Wahl in 2011 and they enjoyed TCU events, socializing with family and friends and many new journeys. They travelled to Bora Bora, Ireland, Croatia, Turkey, Santorini, Costa Rica and Mexico. Maggie gave Collin Rose Bowl 2011 tickets for Christmas and it was the perfect gift. In 2014, Charlie entered our lives and became another loved member of the Hart family. Charlie and Collin cooked, swam, fished, golfed, played tennis and read chapter books. They often visited the zoo and aquarium, both locations of great fascination for Collin and Charlie, especially the penguins, cheetahs and giraffes. When learning of his dad’s passing, Charlie asked “Who is going to take me to the zoo?” and his mom assured him we would all take him. Charlie inherited the travel bug having visited Mexico, the beaches of Florida, New York City, the Big Island, Kauai, Disney World and most recently, Costa Rica. He was all in and enjoyed zip lines, seeing volcanoes, Howler Monkeys, toucans, a sloth, iguanas and red-eyed green frogs.

And Collin delighted in helping others, particularly helping them to improve their skills. He wanted to help with “kid’s church” as a high schooler but it may have been to avoid sitting through regular church. In his last year, he volunteered at The Bridge in Dallas. This work gave him new perspectives on how fortunate he was and how those with less often had a bad break that made their lives worse. He loved this work and the people he met. And who but Collin would give an RBG cross stitch kit to his Mom for Mother's Day?

Collin’s extensive friendships are almost legendary. From the youngest relative to the oldest, the ladies in the Waffle House to the leadership of Merrill Lynch, he had a casual and easy relationship. When he was away from home, it was very common for his parents to receive a call or text saying “Guess who I just ran into” in a different city, state or country. The calls at 1 AM were a little irritating at the time but remind us of what was important to Collin.

Collin was the founder and managing partner for Driftwood Capital following almost ten years in the wealth management industry, primarily with Merrill Lynch. He developed strong personal relationships with many clients and business associates.

Collin enriched the lives of so many. He will be remembered for his infectious smile, helpful spirit and wicked baseline drop shot. We miss him so much but will catch up on a later day.

Collin is survived by his wife, Maggie, son, Charlie, his parents, Sandy and Bobby Hart, his in-laws, Joan and Ed Wahl, his god-daughter, Janie Englert and many relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Johnnye and Hubert Hile and Pauline and Charles Hart.

In lieu of flowers, you may honor Collin through a contribution in his memory to The Bridge in Dallas, the Coach Tut Bartzen Endowed Scholarship at the TCU Frog Club or a charity of your choice.

Please leave your thoughts and memories of Collin on the Sparkman Crane website under “Add a Memory”.

In remembering Collin, “Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson