Marilyn Jane Collings

Marilyn Linville Collings, 66, ascended to Heaven on December 27, 2013, surrounded by her loving husband, children and sister, Elaine Nunley. She was born on February 15, 1947, in Louisville, KY. She married her high school sweetheart, Richard Collings, in 1967 and they had three children: Kelly Collings Hawkins (Seth Hawkins) of Morganton, NC, Michael Collings (Katherine) of Sylva, NC and Kirsten Collings (Mark Hays) of Washington, DC. Marilyn taught special education in public schools in Missouri and Pennsylvania and worked with special needs adults in North Carolina. She was a life-long, active member of the United Methodist Church and lent her beautiful voice to church choirs and community choruses for many years. She was a loving and devoted wife to her husband, mother to her three children, and grandmother to her six grandchildren (Ethan, Kai and Noah Hawkins and Olivia, Walter and James Sebastian Collings). She was generous with her love and made life-long friendships everywhere she lived – Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and North Carolina. She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter J. (Mike) and Shirley Linville. A Celebration of her life will be held at Sylva First United Methodist Church on Saturday January 11, 2014 at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Sylva FUMC’s Mission Fund, a program dear to Marilyn’s heart. PO Box 296, Sylva, NC, 28779 . .