William "Bill" Ernest Collins

While his family moved frequently in his early years, Bill primarily grew up in the Seattle area, graduating from Chief Sealth High School. A multi-sport high school athlete, Bill went on to play football for Stanford University as part of the Class of 1964, where he met Mary Beth, who would become his wife and life partner of 55 years.

After Bill and Mary Beth had both graduated, they married in January, 1967, living in Washington and California while Bill served in the U.S. Navy. They then settled in Southern California, where their children Jennifer and Noah were born. Bill earned a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1973. He began his career as a hospital and emergency medicine administrator in California, later moving to Portland, Oregon, where he and Mary Beth lived for 36 years. Bill oversaw clinics and emergency care for Oregon Health Sciences University, and later was Director of EMS services for Multnomah County. After he and Mary Beth both retired, they moved to West Seattle in 2017.

Bill will be remembered for his friendly, gregarious nature. He loved spending time with friends and family, perhaps singing along to the guitar, which he famously played upside-down (as a proud left-hander who learned on right-handed instruments). He was a terrible speller, a good cook when he wanted to be, and an excellent eater at all times (of nearly everything, excluding sauerkraut, but including tartar sauce sandwiches).

He most loved being a father and grandfather, coaching his daughter’s youth soccer teams and later cheering on his grandsons’ teams, or re-living his scouting days in supporting both his son’s and grandson’s troops. As a lifelong music lover, he delighted in attending his grandsons’ and granddaughter’s concerts. He was very tall--his “Boppa” hat floating above the crowd at Disneyland will always be a fond memory (particularly as he got it by calmly insisting to Disney employees that “Boppa” was not a nickname, but his actual name). Above all he was kind and gentle, not only to all his humans, but to a long series of overindulged dogs, especially Ursula, Olive and little BeBop.

In addition to Mary Beth, Jennifer and Noah, Bill is survived by daughter-in-law Liz, son-in-law Allan, and his beloved grandchildren Cameron, Ian, Milo and Lucy. The oldest of five siblings, Bill is also survived by sisters Margaret and Susan, brother Roger, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews, having been preceded in passing by parents Les and Ernestine, brother Bob and brother-in-law Fred.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Cascade Public Media (cascadepublicmedia.org), Oregon Humane Society (oregonhumane.org) or a charity of your choice. Bill’s family is planning to hold a celebration of his life later this year. Select “Receive Updates” below to receive information as available.