Estel Collins

Mr. Estel Collins, 85 of Pittsboro, Indiana, peacefully passed away in his home surrounded by his loving family.  The following is an obituary written by his loving family.

Estel was born in Rensselaer, Indiana on September 30, 1940, to Sam and Cloria (Conley) Collins. Estel is one of five siblings: Wetzel, Lena, Lessie, and Mitchell Collins. He enjoyed telling stories about his family and classmates. He often spoke of his brother, Mitchel, and the things they did growing up, like feeding animals and bailing hay on their 42-acre farm. His list of chores included feeding the hogs, gathering eggs, chopping corn on the cob for the cows by blade, and milking the cows by hand. Every fall, he and his siblings would all get a new pair of shoes from Braddly Shoe Store after his dad sold a hog. He had a lot of pride in his 1950 6-cylinder-green Studebaker that he purchased for $350 when he was 16 years old. He charged his classmates 25 cents for a haircut so he would have gas money to run around town. 

He played baseball, basketball, track, sang in the choir, and was the class president for three years and the yearbook manager for four years. He participated in two school plays, “The Eager Miss Beaver” and “Just Ducky”. Estel graduated from Sidney High 
School with his 13 classmates in 1959.

He attended Sidney High School in Sidney Indiana, obtained his barber’s license from the International Journeyman's College, and began his teaching college in teaching at Manchester Church of the Brethren. He blamed the Beatles for the lack of haircuts, therefore forcing him to seek another career, at which he chose teaching. He later went on to obtain his master’s degree from IUPUI in Fort Wayne and his administrative license from Indiana University. He owned Collins Farmers Insurance and Real Estate for six years. He continued to sell real estate for many years after.

From his previous marriage, he was blessed with a beautiful daughter, Lisa Collins. He later married the love of his life, Donna (Ferrell) Collins in Trimble, Kentucky on August 11, 1990. He said marrying a lady with four little girls was something he couldn’t pass up. He adopted the youngest daughter, Jennifer, and he was so happy when that happened. He always wanted children, so he was blessed with four beautiful daughters, 10 wonderful grandsons, and three great-grandchildren. Our love story is a book of blessings. He took his daughters on numerous trips, traveling to Florida in a snow/ice storm was one of his most favorite memories. He supported the girls during the years in school. He was athletic director when they were in sports, he went to all track, basketball, and volleyball events. This continued on when the grandsons were born. He attended all of their sporting events and sat in the bleachers to watch every single one of them graduate high school. He helped take care of them when they were little and always enjoyed teaching them and supporting them in whatever they wanted to try. He was very proud of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and he told them often.

He helped many people throughout his widely varied career as a talented barber, then real estate broker/insurance agent, and finally as a teacher, retiring from Indianapolis Public Schools in 2004.

In addition to his parents, Estel is preceded in death by his brothers, Mitchell, Wetzel and Jessie Collins.

Estel is survived by his wife of 35 years, Donna Collins; his daughters, Lisa and Jennifer Collins, Dee Giles, Pam (Andy) Cookerly, and Shirley (Richard) Reid; his grandchildren, Justin Swanson, Johnny Goodwin, Cody Shockley, Gregory (Summer) Stephens, Austin Goodwin, Spencer Cookerly, Robert (Autumn) Goodwin, Kaleb Herring, Michael (Grace) Reid, and Derek Reid; and his great-grandchildren, Fallon Stephens, Walker and Hattie Goodwin.

Friends and family will gather at Eric M.D. Bell Funeral Home in Pittsboro, Indiana on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, from 11 am to 1 pm, with the memorial service honoring Estel's life beginning at 1 pm.

All are encouraged to keep Estel's family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time of loss.