Woodstock, Vermont

James Francis Collins passed away Wednesday July 6, 2016 at the age of 90 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He was the beloved husband of Leslie Paradise Collins, his wife of 49 years, who pre-deceased him in 2009. Born in North Adams, MA on June 27, 1926, he was the son of the late John Cullen Collins and Mary (Connors) Collins. Raised in Boston, Jim was a graduate of the Boston Latin School and Brown University (1949). He served in the US Marine Corps as a Captain during World War II from 1944-1946, the Korean War from 1950-1952, leaving military service in 1953. After several years working with Cerro de Pasco in New York, Jim was appointed Under Assistant Secretary of the United States Commerce Department and served under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon. B. Johnson. In May, 1967 he joined the American Iron and Steel Institute where his roles included Vice President of Public Policy, and Executive Vice President and Treasurer. In 1988 he founded the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) whose members include twenty-eight North American Steel Producers, employing 60,000 people and who today account for 75 percent of domestic steel production. He retired in 1999 and stayed on as a consultant with the SMA until 2008. After thirty three years in Washington, DC, he and Leslie built a home on Shelter Island, NY where they enjoyed many summers with their children and grandchildren and retired to Woodstock, Vermont in 2004. He is survived by his children, Deirdre C. O'Donnell and her husband Robert, of Orford, NH, Michael Collins and his wife Nancy, of Tuckerstown, Bermuda, Max Collins and his wife Katie of Westwood, MA, and Alex Collins and his wife Amy of Quechee, VT, and seven devoted grandchildren. A funeral Mass was held at Our Lady of the Snows and he was laid to rest next to Leslie in Woodstock.