A beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother , and uncle passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by family, on May 28, 2020 at the age of 91. James Elwood Collins has been known by family and friends as "Feetsy" since he was a boy, because his little brother couldn't pronounce his nickname, " Sweet sy ", and it stuck! Feetsy was well known around town for his golfing abilities and participating for decades in annual golf tournaments at Minnesott, Catholic Club, Ambassador Club, and Knights of Columbus. He was one of the early member s of The Ambassador C lub and a member of The Catholic Club. Feetsy was quick to help out with anything needed by the family , friends, or even strangers; and he was quite the character with his joking around.

Feetsy was born in Portsmouth on February 10, 1929 and attended Woodrow Wilson high school. He was quite the athlete who excelled in high school basketball and baseball, even being named "all city" and "all state". Feetsy turned down an invitation to attend the Boston Red Sox training camp in Florida, in order to take care of his mother and younger brother because his other brothers were at war. He did, however, accept an invitation to play in the first ever named Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) in 1953 . Feetsy disrupted his high school education for 18 months in order to serve in the Army, where he received the World War II Victory medal and the Army of Occupation medal in Japan, before his honorable discharge on January 23, 1948. Thereafter, Feetsy continued his high school education at WWHS and graduated in 1949, before he gained employment at the shipyard, where he became a Supervisor of Shipbuilding and Surveyor before retiring after 40 years of service.

One of his proudest achievements, other than his large family and two hole-in-ones on the golf course, was being responsible for higher productivity during his supervision of operations at the shipyard and receiving a letter congratulating him for this accomplishment from President Jimmy Carter in January 1980.

Feetsy is survived by a wife of 62 years, Jeanne Marie Collins; daughter Dianne Turner and son-in-law, Don Turner, of Westchester, PA; sons Harold "Chip" Huling of Richmond, VA and J. Kevin Collins and daughter-in-law, Hollie Collins, of Chesapeake, VA; grandchildren Chris Turner (wife Carly) , Andrew Turner (wife Jennifer) , Ian Huling, Chandler Mills (husband Matthew) , Zoe Huling , and J. Baodan Collins; 7 great-grandchildren Cole, Reese, Lane, Holden, Leo, Marissa, and Pippa; a 98 year old big brother, Robert "Porkchop" Collins, Jr., (the last of the 7 Collins siblings) of Portsmouth, VA, who was by his bedside telling stories of them growing up when Feetsy left this world for bigger and better things; 2 nephews; and 6 nieces.

A viewing and modified visitation service will be held at Foster Funeral Home of Portsmouth on Tuesday, June 2, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. private burial for family only at Olive Branch Cemetery. A celebration of Feetsy's life will be planned later in the year with family and friends, when social distancing protocol is more relaxed. Feetsy always wanted a "party" when he went to be with the Lord, and his bride, Jeanne Marie, intends to see that he gets one!

In lieu of flowers, donations may be mailed to St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 3300 Cedar Ln, Portsmouth, VA 23703.