Jeanne Collison Obituary

Jeanne Elizabeth (McGinn) Collison left this life to be with our Savior Jesus Christ on August 2 after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was surrounded with love by her immediate family: husband Fred, daughter Beth, son-in-law Tom, and especially her granddaughter Malia. Jeanne was born on May 25, 1947 in Gagetown, Michigan. She grew up in Montrose, Michigan and graduated from Montrose High School in 1965. She attended Michigan State University and the University of Michigan and received a BBA in Accounting in 1971 and an MBA in 1975 from the University of Delaware. She also completed most requirements for a PhD in Accounting from Michigan State University.

Jeanne and her family moved to in 1983, where they lived for 23 years. Jeanne taught at Chaminade University and the University of Hawai‘i for a number of years. She earned a graduate certificate in elementary education from the University of Hawai‘i. During the latter years in Hawai‘i she worked at Maililand Transitional Homeless Shelter as an Educational Specialist and Employment Specialist. She felt that the work there was some of the most rewarding of her life. While in Hawai‘i Jeanne also had the opportunity to experience the culture there, including participating in John Lake’s hula hlau for a number of years.

She and Fred moved to Liberty, MO in 2006 to be with Beth, Tom and Malia. Jeanne enjoyed spending lots of time with her granddaughter including homeschooling her for two years. She especially loved taking Malia on trips to visit family in Pennsylvania and Michigan, friends in various states, and National Park Service sites. Jeanne was also very involved in volunteer work lectoring at mass and preparing tax forms as part of the AARP and IRS programs to serve those who could not afford the services of traditional taxpayers, both in Hawai‘i and Missouri. Jeanne was a Girl Scout leader for over 20 years, including for both her daughter’s and granddaughter's troops. She and Fred also volunteered for a number of years at Bryce Canyon National Park, where she served as a Volunteer in Parks staffing the front desk at the Visitor Center and roaming at various overlooks to further serve visitors.

Jeanne was also blessed to be made an honorary member of her son-in-law's family, the Grelingers. They became family (ohana) to both Jeanne and Fred and were a major part of her life in Missouri. Jeanne attended many Grelinger family gatherings and helped host a Mother’s Day luau for many years in Missouri, including making her famous macaroni salad, although not quite the way it is prepared in Hawai‘i.

As many of you may know, Jeanne managed to beat back cancer three times – breast cancer in 1992 and 2001, along with thyroid cancer in 2010 since moving to Liberty, MO to live with Beth, Tom, and Malia. This past few months, however, took a major turn for the worse. Jeanne had a problem with pain in her right hip starting at the beginning of last summer which was thought to be bursitis. She had a cortisone injection and then physical therapy, after which she was much improved.

While at Bryce Canyon last October, she fell which necessitated a trip to the emergency room in nearby Panguitch. After x-rays, and then a CT scan, it was discovered that she had metastatic breast cancer in that hip. After a hasty trip back to Liberty and a return to cancer treatment, that diagnosis was confirmed and the PET scan also found cancer to have spread to her right elbow and ribs as well. She then began immediately to receive treatment for the cancer in the hope that it could be arrested, at least in the short term, although we realized what the diagnosis ultimately meant.

After two hospitalizations (December and this April), it was found that the cancer also reached Jeanne’s brain. After consulting with oncologists at the University of Kansas Hospital and North Kansas City Hospital, we realized that further treatment was highly likely to be futile. As a result, Jeanne entered hospice care in April. Although she continued to be strong spiritually until the end, her physical body declined, more rapidly over the last couple of weeks. The end for Jeanne came on the evening of Sunday, the 2^nd of August just after the recitation of the Holy Rosary at her bedside. We are confident that she will now receive her heavenly rest with our Lord Jesus.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents Willis and Marjorie McGinn, all of her grandparents, her father-in-law Bud, and her brother-in-law Gary. She is survived by her husband Fred, daughter Beth, son-in-law Tom, granddaughter Malia, her mother-in-law Dorothy, her sister-in-laws Ellen and Linda, cousins, niece, and nephew. Her memorial mass will be held St. James Catholic Church in Liberty, MO on Friday, August 14, 2015 at 10:00 am, with the at rosary at 9:30, and luncheon at the church to follow. Her ashes (along with Fred’s upon his passing) will be buried at sea at a later date in Hawai‘i where her father-in-law’s ashes were scattered.

We wish to especially thank the staff of NorthCare Hospice and John Phillips for their wonderful care during this difficult time along with Mary Ann Grelinger and Debbie Ludwig. Thank you also to all the many family and friends that have kept our family in their thoughts and prayers, which helped sustain us during these difficult times.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. James Catholic Church (Liberty, Missouri) building fund (http://www.stjames-liberty.org/stjames2/), St. Rita’s Catholic Church (Nnkuli, Hawai‘i) building fund (https://stritananakuli.weshareonline.org/index.aspx), or the Mary Kay Cancer Foundation  (http://www.marykayfoundation.org/Pages/Home.aspx.)