Bill Collins

Funeral Service for Bill Collins will be 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 9, 2022 at Cowboy Gatherin' Church, Inola, burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery, Claremore. Friends may visit at the funeral home on Sunday, May 8, from 2pm-6pm, with family receiving visitors from 4pm-6pm.
Bill Collins, resident of Rogers County, passed from this life on May 3, 2022. Marion Clyde “Bill” Collins was born October 17, 1937 in Claremore, Oklahoma to Newt Collins and Velma Crain Collins. His school years were all spent in Claremore where he graduated from Claremore High School in 1955.
Known for his charming ways, Bill happened to catch the eye of a particular pretty young girl named Betty before she entered junior high. Working all through high school he would soon be working for his future father in law hauling hay. After finishing high school Bill worked for a short time for Phillips 66 at two locations on the Will Rogers Turnpike. Bill married Betty Kay Corley in 1956 and began working in drywall construction. This took them across the U.S. for a period of time before settling back in the Claremore area in 1963. Bill and Betty have two children, Vickie and Newt.
In addition to his drywall construction, Bill also had a cattle operation which began in 1963 and continued for fifty-five years until 2018. Cattle and good horses were Bill’s passion. Bill loved a good crossbred cow and was proud of the fact that he could always get a premium for his calves. A good using horse was a necessity, one that he could rope a cow in the pasture or sort off of. Bill was a true rancher.
Bill grew up in the church but he would tell you he felt the closest to God when he was out in his pastures checking cattle. In the early 2000s through his work with Roy Shoop and Mike Armitage of A Bar Ranch, he became involved with the Cowboy Gatherin’ Church of Inola. The church was in its infancy at that time and started out meeting in homes and in barns until land was purchased. Bill helped build the first chapel. This church has been an important part of Bill and Betty’s life.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters (Edith Holland, Joyce Turman, Lucille Marshall, and Pauline Warren). He is survived by his wife, Betty and son Newt of the home, his daughter Vickie Myrick of Catoosa, and his sister Louise Gardner of Claremore. Grandchildren are Jonathan and Danielle Myrick of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Adam and Heather Almandarez of Catoosa. Great Grandchildren are Max Almandarez and Kaylie Myrick. As well as a host of nieces and nephews too numerous to name and godchildren Jamie Bell and Kent Tucker.