Obituary of Louise Marie Collins

Louise M (Zore) Collins was born August 17, 1927 to Joseph A and Louise J (Turk) Zore.  She was a lifelong resident of Indianapolis. 
She was a devoted mother of eight, but she could glam it up and hob nob with the best of them.  She was the “hostess with the mostest.”  Christmas, and most holidays were an open house with work colleagues from the Indianapolis Star, lots of family and many friends.  Her dinners at home were the same, extras were welcome for meals or overnights.

In her years with her late husband, Bob Collins, she was a combo housewife/mother/socialite, spending evenings chatting with athletes, coaches, and political figures.  She could be found handing out homemade tenderloins to sportswriters and race drivers in the parking lot behind Gasoline Alley.  Later in life, she worked for and then retired from Noble Centers after 20 years of service.  She was part of the inaugural homebased program working with mentally disabled children, as well as, helping to instruct parents in caring for their children.  She volunteered for over 30 years facilitating bereavement support groups first at Methodist Hospital and then with St. Gabriel Church.  She also found a new flair for art in later life, creating still-life paintings for family and friends.

Her children and her grandchildren were the center of her life.  They were often at her home working on jigsaw puzzles and playing games.  Uno was her favorite.  In the early years, the family swam together at the Fourth Estate, and later, weekly at her daughter Cindy’s house.  She enjoyed exercising with her daughters and going for ice cream afterward.  She orchestrated picnics at Speedway park where they would play tennis together and the little ones would play on the playground.   She had a beautiful singing voice and would entertain friends and family playing the piano and leading songs.  She traveled the country and the world with her husband and children.  She was a beauty inside and out.

She was an active parishioner of Holy Trinity, St. Michael and St. Gabriel.  She sponsored her grandson, William (Bo) Spears, on his confirmation and served as Godmother for several cousins.  She was a devout Catholic.  Her mornings began with an hour of prayer (often having to be reminded the Lord would not care if she took a break to take her meds) and ending at bedtime with the rosary.  After she became too frail to go to church on Sunday, she prayed daily using her prayer cards.

She is survived by her children, Kathy Breen, Carolyn (Emerson) Davis, Cindy (Rick) Leap, Mary Lou Heyob, Evelyn Collins, Michael Collins, Kevin (Patti) Collins and Linda Collins; sixteen grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren; siblings, Dr. Joseph (Mary Ann) Zore and Barbara (Joe) Keers, in addition to many cherished nieces and nephews.  She was also preceded in death by her grandchildren, Rhett, Zachary, Bo, Chris, Brian, and great-grandson Chandler; brothers Tommy Zore and Father Richard Zore.