Yolande Ursela Collins

LEWISTON – Yolande Ursela Collins. Born June 3, 1932, and passed away Aug. 14, 2023.

Yolande was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine, the daughter of Arthur and Almeda LaMontagne and the sister to six brothers and sisters. She is predeceased by her sisters Georgette Hand and Adrianne Cox and her brothers Stanley, Robert and Lionel. Throughout her 91 years she raised her three children on Horton and Elm Streets in Lewiston, where the home on Elm St. became the gathering place for conversations over coffee with family and friends.

She was a dedicated homemaker, a faithful member of St. Joseph’s Church and baby-sat children in her home while her children were young and later owned and operated the Le-National Social Club in Lewiston for many years. She is survived by her older brother Maurice LaMontagne and her three children through her marriage to Arthur Collins; Tom Collins and his wife Cathy of Godfrey, Ill., Steven Collins of Lewiston, Dawna and her husband Don Poulin of Greene. She also had the blessings of four grandchildren, Nicholas and Natasha, Tyler and Emily and five great grandchildren, Mckayla, Quinn, Wesley, Tinleigh and Tucker. Yolande came from a musical family that enjoyed getting together and singing and yodeling to the old French Canadian songs from her youth.

She particularly loved to spend her Thursday afternoons at her surviving brother Maurice LaMontagne’s home with many family members for the weekly gatherings of storytelling. Yolande was very much an animal lover and an example of what it meant to be a strong Christian woman, her faith she passed on to her children and her children’s children. The world is a lesser place without her smile and her laugh. May our Lord God take her to heaven to his waiting arms.

She spent her last few days at Montello Manner and our family would like to thank all the staff that helped and spent time with her, providing her the best care and comfort at this very difficult time.

To leave a message in the family’s online guestbook, please visit http://www.thefortingrouplewiston.com.

A visitation will be held on Friday, August 18, from 4-7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, August 19, at 10 a.m., at the Holy Family Church. Committal prayers at St. Peter’s Cemetery will follow.