Mary Call Darby Collins
Mary Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lady of Florida | |
| In role January 4, 1955 – January 3, 1961 | |
| Governor | LeRoy Collins |
| Preceded by | Thelma Brinson Johns |
| Succeeded by | Julia Burnett Bryant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Call Darby September 11, 1911 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 2009 (aged 98) Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Call Family Cemetery (The Grove Plantation), Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
Mary Call Darby Collins (September 11, 1911 – November 29, 2009
Early years
Mary Call was born in
Mary Call was born in New York because her father had business interests there. However, concerned for her health in the harsh northern winters, Jane Darby and Mary moved to Tallahassee and the Brevard family home of her maternal
When Mary Call was nine years old, her best friend and first cousin, Cora, died following a fall from a tree. In 1920 both Mary Call Brevard and Aunt Caroline died from the Spanish flu epidemic.
In 1923, Thomas Darby was found dead in his New York hotel room at age 66. His business partner then took the proceeds of their successful business and boarded a ship for Europe. The ship was lost at sea with all hands.
Mary Call attended
In 1942, the Collins family acquired The Grove Plantation, a circa 1840 plantation home originally built by Mary Collins' great grandfather Richard Keith Call.
Children and grandchildren
LeRoy and Mary Call Collins had 4 children: Roy Jr., Jane Aurell, Mary Call Proctor and Darby Collins and 12 grandchildren, including John Brevard, a designer and architect.
Mary Call Darby Collins Award
The Mary Call Darby Collins Award, one of three historic preservation awards from the Florida Secretary of State's office is presented to a volunteer who has forever changed the course of historic preservation. (In the 1970s, Mary Call Collins had served, by gubernatorial appointment, as a member of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board.)
Death
Mary Call Darby Collins died at the age of 98, after a long illness. At this time, she was still living in her great-grandfather's home, which the State of Florida is considering turning into a historic museum.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Collins died Sunday after long illness". 2009-11-30. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.