Rip Collins was born May 24, 1927, in Oran, N.Y. In 1945 he began a nearly 30-year Navy career. He retired in 1974 in Oak Harbor. Along the way he met many shipmates and formed friendships that continued throughout his life. He was very proud of his accomplishments in a career that took him across both the equator and the Arctic Circle and many points in between.

His friends will remember his great sense of humor and that he loved to tell a good joke. His email was always full of jokes to be read and passed along. The message on his answering machine was: “If I am not on the golf course and Joyce is not in the garden, we are probably at the doctor’s. That is what old people do.” Even failing health could not stop his sharp wit and sense of humor.

It could be said that golf was his true passion. Almost any day you would find him playing a round with the guys or hitting a bucket of balls. After his retirement from the Navy he attended Skagit Valley Community College and joined the golf team. In 1976 he received both his AA degree and SV letter in golf. His love of golf led him and wife Joyce to Yuma, Ariz., where he could play golf all winter. Later in life, as health eluded him, he could still be found on the golf course carrying his oxygen pack, on the green to putt out. Nothing could keep him from the game he loved. If a book were written about his life it would be titled, “My life through golf and other diversions along the way.”

He passed away quietly at home with his wife and son, on Dec. 13, 2007. He is survived by Joyce his wife of 54 years, son Pat, daughter in-law Susan, grandchildren Sean and Mariah and sister Marion Oot, as well his faithful dog Kai-lei. He will be missed and remembered by many friends.

A celebration of life will be held at Elks Lodge 2362 in Oak Harbor on Friday, Jan. 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to Whidbey General Hospital in his name. Arrangements entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel.