“When you die, if you get a choice between regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not, mmmm boy.” -Jack Handy and quoting him, Colleen Hyde
On August 20, 2019, Colleen (Collins) Hyde said goodbye to this world and hello to pie heaven. Born February 2, 1953, Colleen was a full-blooded Irish girl raised in Virginia, IL by her parents Harry Junior and Connie Collins who preceded her in death. Prior to settling down, Colleen worked as a nurse, a mortician and funeral director, and her favorite paid job, a bartender at the biggest dive bar in Beardstown, IL. It was here she met the love of her life, Doug Hyde, and after a 5-day courtship, they were engaged. Doug, her husband of 39 years, survives. Also surviving her are their three children, Michelle, Maggie and Patrick (Shalon) Hyde and a beloved grandson, Harrison. Additionally, her brothers Mike (Casey) Collins, Kevin (Sue) Collins, sister Cathleen (Brian) Gawthorp, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews survive.
Colleen’s remarkable optimism was her most defining quality. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1992, and her neurologist would go on to use her as a shining example of how a positive outlook is instrumental in mitigating symptoms and living happily. Her optimism continued until the end of her battle with cancer, outliving her life expectancy prognosis three times over. Colleen had a gift of making you feel like the most important person in the room. Quick to laugh, anyone lucky enough to be one of Colleen’s many friends felt like they were the funniest person around when they talked to her.
In addition to being an active room mother and parent volunteer at the ROWVA school district in the 80s and 90s, Colleen was a dedicated member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church, serving for many years as the church organist. She loved The Beatles, politics, Christopher Guest movies, cooking shows, Bill Murray, and of course, pie.
A memorial Catholic mass will be held on Saturday, August 24 at 11:00 am at St. Aloysius Church in Wataga, IL with a meal to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home. Arrangements have been entrusted to Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg. Online expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.watsonthomas.com.
