Lawrence Collins

Lawrence E. "Gene" Collins, 87, of Shelbyville, died on Friday, the 16th day of March, 2018, at his residence. Born in Helena, Kentucky, he was the son of the late Henry Sanford and Mae Cecilia Manion Collins and the widower of Patricia Stahl Collins. He was raised in Mayslick, Kentucky, and attended St. Rose of Lima Church and St. Patrick Church in Mason County. Graduating from Mayslick High School in 1948, he attended Xavier University and graduated from the Blackburn Business College with a degree in accounting. A veteran of the Korean War, he proudly served in the U. S. Army, and was in Korea when the truce was signed. After the war, Gene was the manager of Southern States Cooperative for a total of over thirty-three years, first in Maysville, then Eminence, and finally Shelbyville. While in Eminence he attended St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church. Upon moving to Shelby County, he became a member of the Church of the Annunciation, where he was formerly a member of the Men's Club.
A member and past Grand Knight of the Shelbyville Council No. 5479, of the Knights of Columbus, his memberships also included the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, having been commissioned by both Governor Julian Carroll and Governor Martha Layne Collins. After retiring from Southern States, he embarked upon a second career for seventeen years, working as a branch manager in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. His favorite hobbies and pastimes were bird watching and farming, and he was an enthusiastic fan of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his son, Michael Henry Collins, brothers and sister-in-law, Jay T. Collins and Henry and Betty Collins; sisters and brothers-in-law, Edna and Charles Gallenstein, and Annelle and George Weber.
A devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend, his survivors include his children, Cathy Roberts (Bud), of Shelbyville, Debbie Prewitt (Bob), JoAnne Collins (Gary Hoagland), Cindy Knowles (Chuck), and Christy Campbell (Lonnie), all of Frankfort, and Larry Collins (Melissa) of Finchville; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Jack Collins (Phoebe), Paul Collins (Patty), and Margie Collins; and his nine grandchildren, and twenty great-grandchildren.