Thomas Peter Collins

Obituary for Thomas Peter Collins (June 22, 1944 - May 24, 2025)

Tom Collins, lover of family, theatre history, Shakespeare, opera, laughter and wit, died peacefully at his home in Prescott, AZ, on May 24. Surrounded at his death by members of his loving family, Tom had been resiliently living with leukemia for five years. He and the family were deeply grateful for the care he received from Arizona Oncology, Banner MD Anderson Center, Maggie's Hospice and other local health care institutions. 

Born Thomas Peter Collins in June, 1944, in Turlock, CA, he grew up there with his parents,Dr. Marion Collins and Chrissie Woolcock Collins, and three older siblings, Michael,Margaret, and Linda. His mother and siblings kindled in him an early interest in puppetry,and a local community theatre cast him in several plays, which launched his later career in theatre. His mother took him to San Francisco for opera, which became a life-long passion. 

When he was in eighth grade, his sister Linda introduced him to the works of Shakespeare,and by the end of the summer after graduation from Turlock High, he had read all 26 plays. The trajectory of his professional life was coming into focus.

After a year at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, Tom spent a summer at the Fallon House Theatre in Columbia State Park, CA. This was a turning point for him. During his second summer there, he met Wendy Wight, whom he married in 1967. After that summer, he transferred to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. After graduation they moved to Seattle, where he received an MA in theatre from the University of Washington, and he pivoted from acting to theatre history and directing. Their next move was to Bloomington,IN, where he studied Theatre History, Dramatic Literature, and Drama Theory and Criticism for his PhD at Indiana University.

 In 1970, he and Wendy moved to Platteville, WI, where he began a 31-year teaching and directing career as Professor of Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. There they had a son, Ned. Then the two of them along with Tom Goltry founded the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, offering three or four plays in repertory every summer for 23 years. His dreams from childhood were finally realized. He also enjoyed stints as guest professor or director in Illinois, Virginia and Madison, WI.

After retiring from teaching in 2001, Tom and Wendy relocated to the sunny climes of Prescott, AZ, where he developed a keen interest in the careers of 19th-century actors and producers, and in the stage history of Shakespeare and American melodrama. This research led to three books on Arizona Territorial History, numerous scholarly articles and popular newspaper columns, and engaging live presentations to a variety of local and regional organizations, including the Sharlot Hall Museum, the Western History Symposium, Prescott and Phoenix Corral of Westerner, Yavapai College and the Phippen Museum. 

Tom made a lasting impression on his students, actors, directors and technical staff he worked with during the summer festivals, and people within the wider theatre community,who consistently described him as "a gentleman and a scholar."

As he himself wrote in a brief autobiographical sketch for his family, "I live for soul nourishing theatrical performances. I especially love the tragedies, since I view life as fundamentally tragic. We are born to want to live forever, but our lives are woefully short and come to an end. . .. This life we have on earth is all there is. As Shakespeare put it, 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.'" 

Tom is survived by his wife, Wendy, his son, Ned and daughter-in-law Nancy, and numerous cousins, professional colleagues and friends. A service in celebration of his life will be planned for later in 2025 in Prescott. Memorial gifts may be made to the Sharlot HallMuseum (sharlothallmuseum.org) or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org).