Hello. My name is Lauren Collins. I am the wife of Eric Collins, and daughter-in-law of Steven Collins. My husband tragically, and unexpectedly, lost his father this week and was also left to take care of all the details with no guidance. That's where I come in. As his wife, I have taken this burden off of him and want to help sort it all out for him. I have only truly known Steven for the last 15 years, so I can really only speak to the man I knew, not all his 72 years. I know he was a troubled man when he was younger, when his family was young, but that he did work hard to provide for them. I know that he had a rough past with drugs and alcohol, but was able to overcome that eventually. To my knowledge he was married once for many years to my mother-in-law, but were divorced many many years ago and he never remarried. They had 3 children, and my husband is the youngest. My husband has lived close to him and spent the most time with him in his elder years. Steven even lived with us for a little while to get back on his feet, and we have helped guide Steven whenever he needed help along the way.. The Steven I know was a very kind man. He liked to laugh and found joy in the little things. He loved playing video games on his computer, he loved watching movies and he enjoyed being alone, most of the time. He loved our daughters very much. Always told them how proud he is of them, how awesome he thinks they are, and that he feels so blessed to be in their lives. They connected easily because Grandpa Steven could still be very kid-like, just like his son is, too. He was a simple man that didn't require much; a good computer, TV, strong internet, and a space heater, because he was always cold! (We bonded over that, I too am always FREEZING!) Steven loved Jesus. He was very sure of where he was going after this life and never missed an opportunity to tell you about it either. I am asking for help with 2 things: Funds to cremate Steven ($1,100) are top priority, and then the funds to pay off his car, so we can hopefully keep it in our family. ($7,260) He didn't leave any finances behind for us to use, not even for funeral/cremation. Being the simple man that he was means he was able to live on very little, therefore saving none. We are a family of 4 with 2 teen/pre-teen daughters and unfortunately do not have that kind of money laying around. In October of 2024, Eric drove Steven from place to place checking out cars. He needed something newer than what he had, but he couldn't afford much. Eric found this place in Fort Worth and spent 2 days helping Steven make this purchase. Eric did all of the finance paperwork, made all the calls to insurance and basically did all of the leg work. Steven drove home in that pretty red Chevy Cruz you see in that photo, and boy was he proud! And Eric was so proud he was able to do something for his dad to better his life, even just a little. This is what Steven posted on his social media about his new car.. "I'm sooo blessed to have a family that holds my best interest at heart. Eric was instrumental in helping me get through all the paper work ,among the other many things I had to cope with. THIS family whom I dearly LOVE,has improved my life exponentially.I could never pay back the kindness I have received from them.☺️"-Steven So for that reason alone, we want to be able to pay off this car and keep it for our family. If you are unable to donate, please just send prayers of strength for my husband. Losing a parent is hard. Losing a parent unexpectedly is hard. Losing a parent unexpectedly AND being left to sort it all out with no previous arrangements and no finances is a burden no son/daughter should have to carry alone. Thank you for your time, your donation or even just a share.
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