Mrs. Nancy Racz Collins

Nancy Racz Collins, 72, affectionately known as “Mouse” to her family and friends passed away December 15, 2022 after a five year battle with pulmonary fibrosis. She was surrounded by her family night and day until the Lord took her home. Her constant smile and love for her family never waivered through much suffering as she never complained and fought the good fight. Born May 3, 1950, she grew up in Albany. She received her R.N. degree at Georgia Southwestern College and was employed at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens where she met her husband Seth at the University of Georgia. They had been together fifty years. She grew up in Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church. After marrying, she returned to Albany and continued the tradition with her family. She loved music and was a member of the choir and Sweet Beginning’s music group. The Intercessory prayer group was special to her, and they were there for her in her sickness though she had moved away ten years earlier. Whether chasing a missed river boat down the Rhine River, being evacuated from a hurricane ravaged island in the Caribbean, exploring volcanoes and the rainforest, she was always ready for the next adventure. Her nursing career spanned thirty five years but called it quits when her first granddaughter was born on her birthday. A new career began caring for her granddaughters. She also cared for Seth’s mother who passed away in 2010. A lifetime of caring for others when fulltime retirement was an option. She explained it as a gift for the people she loved. In 2012, she achieved the goal to move to New Smyrna Beach, FL. The family followed. Prior to her sickness she loved to travel but after discovering the Hawaiian Islands’ Hapuna Beach became her favorite destination. When asked: “why do you keep going to the same place”, she explained, she had spent her life exploring beaches and finally found the “perfect beach”. Always the beach girl until the end. The void the family feels can never be filled. In “Mouse’s” words: “the Lord always has a perfect plan”. She is survived by her husband Seth; daughter, Ivy Rosen and her husband Joshua; son, Christopher Collins; granddaughters: Kohdi and Endi Rosen, all of New Smyrna Beach, FL. Also survived by her brother, Reverend Wayne Racz and his wife Genny of St. Simons Island, GA; niece, Katherine Jeanne Racz Lake and her husband Brian; nephews: Benjamin Racz and Sam Racz and his wife Helen; great-nephews: James and Wyatt Racz; brothers-in-law: Steve Collins and Stan Collins and his wife Diane, of Albany. A memorial service will be held March 11, 2023, at 2:00 PM in the chapel of Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church. Those desiring may make memorials in her memory to: Halifax Health Hospice, Attention: Emily Smith, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129. You may share your own special thoughts and memories with the family by visiting www.kimbrellstern.com.

Mrs. Nancy Racz Collins

May 3, 1950 - December 15, 2022