[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 5, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO FRANK COLLINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DON SHERWOOD

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2005

  Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, my predecessor in Congress, former 
Representative Joseph M. McDade, who served in the House for 36 years, 
has informed me of the passing on February 18 of Frank Collins, a 
prominent attorney from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and former Scranton 
native.
  Mr. Collins graduated in 1948 from Scranton Preparatory School, where 
he was a classmate of Congressman McDade. Collins attended St. Francis 
College and graduated in 1952 from the University of Scranton. He later 
received his Jurist Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 
1955.
  Collins worked for several banks during his distinguished legal 
career and most recently worked at the law firm of Collins, Johnson and 
Markey in Media, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, 
Katharine, and seven children and six grandchildren.
  Those who knew Collins best pay high tribute to his intellect, 
integrity and character. Congressman McDade said of Collins, ``His life 
is a testament to the joy of intellectual pursuit and the use of the 
Socratic method to attain dependable decisions. Our heartfelt sympathy 
goes to his lovely wife, Katie, and their children.''
  In a moving and eloquent memorial delivered by a fellow attorney and 
close personal friend, Henry B. FitzPatrick, Collins was remembered for 
his many friendships, sense of humor, athletic achievements in 
basketball and golf, enduring and loving marriage, and professional and 
personal integrity.
  ``Frank Collins chose to be a lawyer,'' FitzPatrick eulogized. ``It 
doesn't take long until that profession separates the upright from the 
rest. It asks questions which can only be answered by those who are 
serious about being honest, those who can interrogate the depth of 
their soul to see if there is further will to be summoned for the 
finding of the right answer. Frank had that quality of honesty--
otherwise he would not have had the trust, as he did, of his clients 
and fellow lawyers.
  ``But, we all know that professional honesty might not accompany a 
person home. The fearlessly scrupulous judge or lawyer might with wife 
or husband be disingenuous and deceitful; few of us are honest all of 
the time; Frank Collins was one of that few. He was unable to put a 
knife in the crack between the levels of integrity demanded of him in 
his personal and professional lives. For there was no crack, but only 
the seamless cloth of honesty.''
  Those are high words of praise for a truly remarkable individual. I 
want to thank Congressman McDade for bringing the exemplary life on 
Frank Collins to my attention so that I could bring it to the attention 
of my colleagues.




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