FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia — Joan Dale Collins, age 96, passed away peacefully at the Azalea Estates Assisted Living facility in Fayetteville, GA on January 16, 2023. Born in New York, New York on April 29, 1927, she was the daughter of Benjamin Moran Dale and Lucille (McMenomy) Dale.

She was predeceased by her husband, George; her son William; and her sister, Nancy (Dale) Trone.

She is survived by her son John M. Collins (Alison) of Oyster Bay, New York, and daughter, Kathleen Ann Leoffler (Frank) of Peachtree City, Georgia. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: William D. Collins Jr (Maureen), James M. Collins (Anna), Brendan S. Collins (LeAndra), Trevor M. Collins (Erica), Tyler S. Collins, Courtney J. Collins, and Kimberly A. Leoffler, and eight great grandchildren.

Joan grew up in Forest Hills, New York and spent summers in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. She attended Adelphi University and was a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority.

She married the love of her life, George J. Collins, Jr., on September 6, 1947 and they were married for 56 years before his passing in 2002. The couple eventually moved to Oyster Bay, New York, where they raised their family.

Joan volunteered for over 25 years as a Pink Lady with the Glen Cove (New York) Community Hospital’s Ladies’ Auxiliary. After retiring to Owls Head, Maine, she continued to do volunteer work at the Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine.

In August of 2016 Joan moved to Fayette County Georgia to be close to her daughter.

As a young girl, Joan took dancing lessons and throughout her long life would dance at every opportunity, memorably a Hawaiian Luau hula at Azalea Estates last year.

A private gravesite ceremony and interment will be held in the spring at Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania where Joan will be interred with her husband, father, grandparents, and son.

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to one of her favorite charities: Toys for Tots, St. Jude’s, or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.