Cynthia D. Collins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 10, 1945. She left us on January 1 in Houston, TX, and is now in Heaven with her father and mother, Louis Donahue and Marion Smith Donahue, and her beloved brother Chris.

Cindy is survived by her husband of 57 years, Joseph Patrick Collins; her children, Christopher Scott Collins and Jane Patricia Choppin and husband Steve Choppin; grandchildren Eric Shafer, Emily Kate Choppin and Olivia Grace Collins; siblings, Steven Donahue, Bridget Cummins, and Shawn Donahue and wife Jeanine; and many nieces and nephews whom Cindy adored.

As a baby, Cindy and her parents lived in California briefly while her father was in the Coast Guard during WWII, but they quickly returned to Louisiana, where Cindy grew up with her four siblings in Metairie, LA, and graduated from East Jefferson High School. Cindy went to work at a manufacturing firm in 1966, where a new employee named Pat Collins chatted her up while getting a company tour. She always told her children she thought Pat was obnoxious during their introduction - trying to impress with a broken arm he received from being thrown from a horse – and yet she fell for him, and they married on May 25, 1968.

Pat and Cindy settled down in Lakeview, a neighborhood of New Orleans, and welcomed a giant baby boy named Christopher Scott in 1970. When Chris was just a toddler, Cindy and Pat were blessed (surprised) with another pregnancy, having Jane Patricia in 1971.

Cindy was an amazing mother, always supporting her children's interests to the extreme. She allowed Chris to have two mice-eating snakes, 16 guinea pigs, and 36 turtles (Chris is now a biologist). Cindy cared for multiple family dogs, Jane's cats and her exorbitant Barbie collection. An avid music fan, Cindy introduced her children to all kinds of artists, encouraging their love of playing the guitar and piano. Cindy even took piano lessons herself.

Cindy was incredibly creative. Chris and Jane remember Cindy creating macramé and countless sewing projects, making silk flowers, wallpapering, painting, and decorating rooms, and sewing skirts and pillows she sold at some local events. Cindy took painting classes and painted gorgeous landscapes and abstracts for her home and her children's homes, with some of her pieces hanging in a local gallery.

Everyone always talks about Cindy's style and fabulous fashion sense. For her wedding, she wore a short A-line dress with a dainty pill box hat, during a time when most women wore long gowns. She continued to have unique and beautiful style no matter the occasion. She loved taking her grand-girls shopping, and they loved exploring her jewelry collection and wearing her colorful collection of robes.

It was Cindy's humor and youthful energy that sustained us all through good and bad times. She was the center of our family, and her presence will be missed always.

Visitation will be held from 5 pm – 8 pm on Monday, January 6, at Klein Funeral Home at 16131 Champions Forest Drive, Houston, TX 77379.