Glenn Collins

Sorry to hear about Mr. Collins death but delighted he lived so long. I went to work at Fo-Mac for a few summers starting in 1977 and Glenn was my first boss. My dad worked there and wanted me to learn from Glenn at an early age. I remember his quirky smile and high voice so well. He was a very smart man. My 1st summer I was only 15 and he sent me to get gas in a truck and didn't know my age. We had a good laugh later.

Glen was a great man. I wish I would have had the opportunity to know him better before he retired.

I cannot put a lifetime of love and support from my Father into just a few sentences. My Dad was a very hard working man. Self made, self educated. He grew up in the depression and did not have the means to go to college. Had he done so, he would have been an amazing engineer. However, even without a degree, he could design just about anything, build anything, and fix anything. He just figured things out by using common sense and the “school-of-hard-knocks�. I learned a great deal from him and he inspired me to go as far as I could. He was kind and selfless. He never complained, nor wanted anything. This always made it difficult for me to buy Christmas and Birthday presents for him. He would help out any neighbor, friend or relative on anything that needed to be fixed or made. He helped me build my 6th grade science fair project. Which is a keepsake that I still have today . . . and it still works. During my Mothers final years, Dad single handedly took care of her. He did not ask for help nor did he want her to go to a nursing facility. He kept up this labor of love for my Mother until the day she died in his home in 2000. continued below. . .

At the time of my Mothers passing, my wife was pregnant with our first child. Mom knew her granddaughter was on the way. But I deeply regret that she never got to see Megan. She also did not get to meet my adopted Son Raymond who arrived from China in June of that year. When Mom passed, my Dad was left alone in Tulsa. I was always concerned about him and how he would weather the hard winters. In 2003, we moved to a new home and had needed to decide what to do with our previous home. My lovely wife Jenny (Jinling Kui) Collins came up with the brilliant idea for Dad to move from Tulsa to Austin, Texas to reside in our previous home. It was less than a mile from our new home. I thought Dad would never go for it and leave his house of over 40 years. But I called him up with the proposition. Three days later, Dad called me to say that he had put his house up for sale and was ready to move to Austin. Just before Thanksgiving of 2003 Dad arrived in Austin and we enjoyed being with him during his final years. Love you Dad Your Son Mike Collins

I believe Glenn to be one of the smartest self made Industrial engineers I have ever known. I believe Glenn and I both went to work at Fo-MAC in 1958. After Glenn retired from FO-MAC he helped me start a like business in 1985. I could have never put it together without him. Glenn taught me a lot. All our employees are deeply indebted to him.

Uncle Glenn had always been a positive role model in my life. He took an interest in me when we would visit, and went out of his way to open my eyes to new things. He took me to Fo-Mac when I was young, showed me around, and gave me an injection molded thermo-plastic roller skate wheel mounted as a trophy on a piece of wood. It was spectacular. He took me to a Boy Scout function once with Mike. There was a large table surrounded by the whole troop in the act of disassembling a number of residential gas meters. Glenn set me up in the corner and handed me a hammer. He loved to show you things; he’d tell you how things worked and how they used to work, and why they work this way now. It didn’t take much to start up a conversation with Glenn. I remember wondering what that odd lever hanging off the steering column of a farm tractor was used for. I asked my uncle - Glenn explained, “It retards the spark timing so you can go very slowly without killing the engine. When I was young we would use that lever to slow our cars way down when we were cruisin’ the main drag. We called it Cadillac’n.� So for now and for the rest of my days, as I begin to retard my spark timing, I’ll be thinking of you Uncle Glenn.