Chester Collins was born June 15, 1928 and departed this life December 24, 2008 in Desert Hot Springs, California where he was cremated by his request.

Chester attended Vardy School 1937-1945. After finishing the eighth grade, he attended two years at Warren Wilson in North Carolina. He left there and worked in Ellicott City, Maryland before moving Desert Hot Springs, California where he worked and retired.

Chester’s request was that his remains be brought back to Vardy and scattered around the church. He loved the place and the church very much. He always spoke of it and visited each time he returned to the valley. Chester didn’t want to forget where he was raised and spent his early childhood. He was the son of Dewey and Stella (Mullins) Collins. His brothers are: James, William, and Made and sister, Tylie.

On Saturday, January 31, 2009, Tylie and her daughter, Judith Ann Bell, along with Chester’s son Brian Matthew Collins of Anchorage, Alaska, came to Vardy and Carried out Chester’s request.

Chester never wanted to forget Vardy and Blackwater where he was raised. Miss Rankin, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard, Father and Mother Leonard, Stella Miser, and Drew Williams were very important in Chester’s life. He admired and appreciated all of them and gave them much credit in molding his life.