Trudy Collins

Trudy Collins, age 78, of Clark, died Friday afternoon, March 15, 2024 at  Avantara in Lake Norden with family by her side.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at Furness Funeral Home from 5-7 PM. A private family prayer service with burial at St. Boniface Cemetery will be held later.

Trudy was born March 21, 1945, to John and Edith (Sandvik) Barton in Webster, SD where she joined a sister, Terry. In the early 1950's, they packed up and moved to Woodland Township in Clark County where she attended Woodland Township Country School for the first 8 years and then went to Clark High School and graduated in 1963.

In 1966, Trudy was united in marriage to Charles "Chuck" Welk to which two children were born, Patrick and Wendy. During her life she worked in many cafés including the Playhouse Restaurant, and the Clark Lanes, and she also helped Connie Merkel sell clothing at the Clothing Nook. She followed her children through school attending all of their events. After Chuck passed in 1986, she married Bill Collins in 1988.

Some of her hobbies in life were embroidering, gardening, and word search puzzles.

Trudy lived in the Wookey's Assisted Living Center after being diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer's. While there, she liked to help clean up flower beds, play domino's and do her word search puzzles.

She moved to the Avantara Nursing home in Lake Norden, SD in the fall of 2022 to the Alzheimer's unit as her disease was progressing. She resided there until her death.

She was preceded in death by her father, John Barton, her mother Edith (Sandvik) Barton, her husband Charles "Chuck" Welk and her husband William "Bill" Collins.

Grateful to have shared in her life are her children, Patrick and Cheri (Carlson) Welk of Sioux Falls, SD, Wendy (Welk) and Courtney Davis of Watertown, SD, her grandchildren, Taylor and Emily Welk, Brady Welk, Skylar (Welk) and Joey Bednarek, Kayla (Carlson) and Patrick Prasch, Kari (Carlson) and Ben Fleming and great grandchildren, Stevie Welk, Kate Welk, Lincoln Welk, Brynna Bednarek, Kaisley Bednarek, Finley Prasch, Cooper Fleming, and Merritt Fleming. She is also survived by Bill's children, Brian Collins, Linda (Collins) Wells, Carol (Collins) Dix, Mark Collins, Joanne (Collins) Grohs and their children and grandchildren, and her sister, Terry (Barton) and Dennis Hubbard of Watertown, SD.

Arrangements are with Furness Funeral Home of Clark where there is an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com.