William E. Collins

Williams E. Collins of Hingham, MA passed away peacefully on December 9, 2020 at the age of 95. 

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Ellen L. Collins, and his children Anne and Dennis McConville (Braintree), Julia and Timothy Howington (Winthrop), and his four grandchildren Finn and Edward McConville, Veronica and Quinn Howington. His extended family includes Catherine Morley and cousins from the Morley and Murphy families in both the U.S. and Ireland. 

He was born in Boston, Mass. in 1925 to Thomas B. and Annie Murphy Collins and graduated from Boston English and Boston College with degrees in history and economics. A veteran of WWII, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1943–1945 as a radio operator in the North Atlantic ship convoys and later in the Pacific theatre.

He spent the majority of his career as a technical writer for GenRad and Teradyne.  In retirement, he returned to the sea to serve as the radio/communications operator for the Maine Maritime Academy. A longtime resident of Arlington, Harvard, and Falmouth, he served on Arlington’s finance committee and as a town meeting member in Falmouth. 

The family will be holding a private service due to public health precautions. In lieu of flowers, relatives and friends may donate to the Campion Jesuit Center [https://www.campioncenter.org/donate/] or the Greater Boston Food Bank [https://www.gbfb.org/].