Charlotte Blevins Collins of Raleigh, North Carolina, entered into eternal rest with her Lord and Savior on April 3, 2026 (Good Friday) at the age of 91.

     Born Charlotte Jane Blevins to Nancy and Baxter Blevins in Manassas, Virginia, Charlotte was the third youngest of 17 children. She was especially close to her little sister, Lorraine, and her baby brother, Joe. When their parents died while they were quite young, Charlotte and Lorraine went to live at the Baptist Orphanage of Virginia. Charlotte talked about her orphanage days with great fondness, saying that she always had clean clothes and plenty to eat. She helped tend the orphanage’s vegetable garden and constantly doted on her baby sister, leading to her lifelong love of gardening and helping others.

     When Charlotte aged out of the orphanage, she continued attending high school while living in an apartment and working part time as telephone operator. After graduation, Charlotte briefly attended college before heeding the call of adventure and joining TWA as flight attendant in the 1950s.

     It was during this time that Charlotte met the man who would become her husband, Chris Collins, the son of Greek immigrants who owned a sundry and shoe repair shop in Burlington, NC. Although his family strongly preferred that he marry a fellow Greek, true love persisted. Chris would drive all over the country to meet Charlotte at her various airport destinations. She would later say, “I finally agreed to marry him so he would stop driving that little car all over the place.”

     Their marriage was a happy one, producing three children who shared their love of vacations at Carolina Beach, weekend cookouts during the summer and frequent drives to visit family. They settled in Erwin, NC, where Chris served as Director of Personnel at Erwin Mills, the Burlington Industries denim manufacturing plant.

     In October of 1973, Chris and three colleagues were driving back from a meeting when they were hit by a speeding car. Chris did not survive, leaving Charlotte a widow with three young children – Lori,11; Angelo, 9; and Jimmie, 7. Though they loved their hometown of Erwin, there were no real job opportunities for Charlotte, so she earned her real estate license and moved her family to Raleigh, NC.

     In Raleigh, Charlotte began what we like to call her second act. She built a strong cohort of friends and joined the local ski and outing club to discover new hobbies. Soon, she was snow skiing, hang gliding, and playing golf. She held several jobs throughout her career, including her favorite in the radiology department at the North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine, from which she retired.

     Always tireless and social, Charlotte became a volunteer at the North Raleigh Mission, a food pantry and thrift shop ministry she learned about as a parishioner of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. She would often find treasures she couldn’t resist and would bring family and friends everything from 1960s molded plastic chairs to lighted Christmas villages and even a signed Masters Tournament pin flag. Her love of the coast never waned, and she would often travel to visit the various lighthouses along the Carolina shore and bring back pictures and figurines to decorate her kitchen.

     Charlotte was the unofficial mayor of her street, famously known for bringing up the garbage cans of her neighbors on trash day, cutting their grass and watching their pets. Her unofficial office was the Bull & Bear where she would enjoy beer with friends and dime shrimp on Thursdays. She continued to be out and about well into her 80s, and people always remarked that she didn’t look her age, much less act like it.

      In February 2023, Charlotte was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, a disease we are still learning about. As she began needing assistance, she found a wonderful place to live at Elsie’s Place Family Care Home, a residential facility in North Raleigh. Charlotte was soon making new friends and happy memories. It was like “The Golden Girls” but with 24/7 care. She loved eating meals with her friends at the kitchen table and watching the Hallmark Channel and WRAL TV5 news from her favorite recliner in the den. At Elsie’s Place, Charlotte celebrated her 90th birthday by leading everyone in singing “Happy Birthday” and enjoying lunch and cake surrounded by her beloved family and friends.

     The family will have a private graveside service where Charlotte will be interred next to her cherished husband, Chris. She leaves behind her three children, Lori Collins O’Brien (Dan), Angelo Collins (Desiree) and Jimmie Collins. She was enormously proud of her three granddaughters, Gabriella Collins Garcia (Alphonza), Mary Elise Loughran (Joe) and Caroline Collins O’Brien, and her great grandson, Caden Chris Garcia. Her immediate family circle also includes Cari, Craig and Jonah Newton, Anne Robertson, Virginia Wyatt, Gail and Rodney Hobbs, Lois and Joe Blevins, Jr., Patty Blevins and the staff and residents of Elsie’s Place whom she called “her people.”

     Charlotte had a Master’s Degree in Life. Her greatest joy was making people happy, so in her honor we hope you will enjoy relaxing on the beach with your feet in the water, dancing to blue grass music, singing “Proud To Be An American” at the top of your lungs, sipping a cold beverage with friends, planting flowers and azaleas, or finding treasures at a thrift shop.

     A celebration of life worthy of the woman will be held at a later time.

You may send condolences and sign the online register at www.lowefuneralhome.com.