thedrifter
04-06-08, 06:09 AM
Family honors fallen Marine
In uniform Man was weeks from finishing tour in Iraq
April 6, 2008
By Jim Hook, Staff Writer
Alice Collins wants people to know a thing or two about her late grandson Jonathan Collins.
"Jonathan loved life," said Collins, of Oak Lawn. "He had such a zest for life.
"He loved to sing and dance and make everyone feel good," she said. "That was apparent in the hundreds of people who came out to pay their respects."
Jonathan Collins was a U.S. Marine who was killed Aug. 8, 2004, when he was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was 19.
To honor his memory, Jonathan Collins' family and friends created the Jonathan Collins Memorial Fund.
One of the main fundraising events is the annual golf outing at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont.
This year's golf outing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 9. The event has raised more than $20,000 in each of the past three years.
The cost of golf and dinner is $125.
For more information, people can e-mail Alice Collins at acoll999@aol.com.
Proceeds from the golf outing have gone to establish scholarships for graduating seniors at Crystal Lake South High School (where Jonathan attended), help pay for an activities center proposed for St. Gerald's Church in Oak Lawn and pay for toys and other items donated to the annual Toys for Tots program.
Collins said Jonathan was "something special."
"He really believed he and the rest of the Marines were making a difference in the lives of the Iraqi people, especially the children," she said.
"Whenever we sent care packages, he always asked to include Frisbees and Nerf footballs for the Iraqi kids."
Collins said she talked to her grandson just two weeks before he was killed.
"I remember he asked me if I'd be in California when he got back," she said. "I told him that even if I had to walk that I'd be there to see him."
Jonathan was five weeks shy of completing his first seven-month deployment to Iraq when he was killed.
Other survivors include his parents, Jack and Angel Collins; an older brother, Brandon; and two younger sisters, Lauren and Devon.
Jim Hook can be reached at jhook@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5961.
Ellie
In uniform Man was weeks from finishing tour in Iraq
April 6, 2008
By Jim Hook, Staff Writer
Alice Collins wants people to know a thing or two about her late grandson Jonathan Collins.
"Jonathan loved life," said Collins, of Oak Lawn. "He had such a zest for life.
"He loved to sing and dance and make everyone feel good," she said. "That was apparent in the hundreds of people who came out to pay their respects."
Jonathan Collins was a U.S. Marine who was killed Aug. 8, 2004, when he was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was 19.
To honor his memory, Jonathan Collins' family and friends created the Jonathan Collins Memorial Fund.
One of the main fundraising events is the annual golf outing at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont.
This year's golf outing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 9. The event has raised more than $20,000 in each of the past three years.
The cost of golf and dinner is $125.
For more information, people can e-mail Alice Collins at acoll999@aol.com.
Proceeds from the golf outing have gone to establish scholarships for graduating seniors at Crystal Lake South High School (where Jonathan attended), help pay for an activities center proposed for St. Gerald's Church in Oak Lawn and pay for toys and other items donated to the annual Toys for Tots program.
Collins said Jonathan was "something special."
"He really believed he and the rest of the Marines were making a difference in the lives of the Iraqi people, especially the children," she said.
"Whenever we sent care packages, he always asked to include Frisbees and Nerf footballs for the Iraqi kids."
Collins said she talked to her grandson just two weeks before he was killed.
"I remember he asked me if I'd be in California when he got back," she said. "I told him that even if I had to walk that I'd be there to see him."
Jonathan was five weeks shy of completing his first seven-month deployment to Iraq when he was killed.
Other survivors include his parents, Jack and Angel Collins; an older brother, Brandon; and two younger sisters, Lauren and Devon.
Jim Hook can be reached at jhook@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5961.
Ellie