Audrey (Pitt) Collies, 83, beloved wife of the late Lyle Edwin Collies, went to be with her Lord on September 23, 2021. She never lost hope during her illness and always believed she was in God's hands. She was born August 25, 1938, in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of the late Floyd Jones and Audrey Violet (Jeffries) Pitt.
Grace met Lyle, the love of her life, at Ocean Beach Park on Memorial Day weekend, in 1956. They married in 1958, and settled in East Granby, Connecticut, in 1963, to raise their two children.
Grace grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1956, and enjoyed celebrating her 60th high school reunion with her lifelong friends. After graduation, she attended Barrington College in Rhode Island, and later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Hartford Art School, in 1998. Her paintings reflected her love of cats, flowers, and the ocean.
She enjoyed working for the University of Hartford Men's Basketball Office for many years, until she retired in 1999. Grace was a faithful follower of Christ and became a member of Bethel Baptist Church in high school. In 1958, she became a founding and lifelong active member of Wintonbury Baptist Church. She was also a member of the Windsor Brush and Palette Club and the East Granby and Narragansett Historical Societies. Her family history was captured in the many scrapbooks that she lovingly created, and will be treasured always. Grace loved to travel, especially her trips to Florida and California, and her yearly trips to the Rhode Island shore.
Grace is survived by her daughter, Karen Audrey Schultz and her husband Mark of Tolland; son, Gary Lyle Collies and his wife Jenny of West Simsbury; precious grandchildren, Spencer and Lily Collies, for whom she was "Gigi"; and Cousin Frannie Rinehuls of Greensboro, North Carolina, who was like a daughter. She was predeceased by her brother, George Floyd Pitt. She also leaves behind many special cousins, nieces, nephews, and wonderful friends.
At Grace's request, a memorial service will be held at Wintonbury Church, 54 Maple Avenue, Bloomfield, Connecticut, on October 17, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. A live stream broadcast can be viewed at www.wintonbury.org/services. In lieu of flowers, donations in Grace's memory may be made to Samaritan's Purse at www.samaritanspurse.org/memorial-page/grace-pitt-collies-east-granby-ct. For online condolences, please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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