Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
1951 - 2012 (61 years)| Name | Donald Ely “Donnie” COLLINS [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12] | |
| Prefix | Reverend | |
| Suffix | Sr. | |
| Birth | 1951 | Manning, Clarendon County, South Carolina  |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | of Sumter, South Carolina at death- he had 7 great-grandchildren Fatal collision on U.S. 521 Posted: Friday, May 25, 2012 12:15 pm | Updated: 6:15 pm, Fri May 25, 2012. From staff reports The senior pastor of a local church was killed Friday morning in a head-on collision along U.S. 521 near the border of Sumter and Kershaw counties. The Rev. Donnie Collins, 61, senior pastor at the Green Acres Assembly of God on Lewis Road, died when the 2006 red Ford pickup truck he was driving and a 2000 Kenworth tractor-trailer hauling a full load of scrap metal collided into one another just north of Swift Creek Bridge. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Brent Kelly, Collins was killed when his vehicle crossed the center line of the highway shortly after 11 a.m., striking the 18-wheeler. Another passenger in Collins' vehicle, described as a 38-year-old male, was transported to KershawHealth's Medical Center in Camden for treatment for what Kelly described as minor injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer, 37-year-old Ronald Fortner of Gastonia, N.C., was uninjured in the collision, Kelly said. All three passengers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident, and no charges are expected, according to Kelly. See more in Saturday’s edition of The Item. Local minister dies in head-on wreck BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com The senior pastor of a local church was killed Friday morning in a head-on collision along U.S. 521 near the border of Sumter and Kershaw counties. The Rev. Donnie Collins, 61, senior pastor at the Green Acres Assembly of God on Lewis Road, died when the 2006 red Ford pickup truck he was driving and a 2000 Kenworth tractor-trailer hauling a full load of scrap metal collided into one another just north of Swift Creek Bridge. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Brent Kelly, Collins was killed when his vehicle crossed the center line of the highway shortly after 11 a.m., striking the 18-wheeler. Another passenger in Collins' vehicle, described as a 38-year-old male, was transported to KershawHealth's Medical Center in Camden for treatment for what Kelly described as minor injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer, 37-year-old Ronald Fortner of Gastonia, N.C., was uninjured in the collision, Kelly said. All three passengers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident, and no charges are expected, according to Kelly. The crash Friday morning forced the main artery between Sumter and Camden to be closed for several hours, and public safety officials had to divert traffic miles away from the site. Both vehicles involved in the accident were thrown from the road and into ditches on opposite sides of one another. However, scrap metal from the back of the larger vehicle covered both lanes. An estimated 30 rescue workers from Sumter County, Kershaw County and Shaw Air Force Base responded to the scene of the crash. Kershaw County Coroner Johnny Fellers released Collins' identity around 3 p.m. Friday, shortly after he had confirmation that the family had been notified. By that time, word of the accident had spread quickly through the Sumter area and dozens of people were gathering at Green Acres, both offering and looking for comfort and solace from the events of the day. Associate Pastor Michael Bowman said Collins touched the lives of many people in the area, not just those in his congregation. "He loved the Sumter community, and he tried to be a pastor to the entire Sumter community," Bowman said. "As far as people, individuals, they didn't have to be a part of his church. If it was somebody he could help, especially if it was someone he knew from growing up in the community, he tried to reach out to them. That's one of the reasons you see the outpouring that you see." Bowman added Collins had been making visits with members of the congregation earlier in the day before the crash. "A lot of people are heartbroken. A lot of people feel like they lost their best friend," Bowman said. "It's going to take a while for some people to heal. A lot of broken hearts." Collins had a reputation not only for being compassionate, Bowman said, but also for finding unique ways to encourage his congregation to be active in the church. "One of the things he would do, he would have a pledge, if a certain number of people came to church on a certain Sunday, he would preach off the roof the following Sunday," Bowman said. "So he would stand on the roof with the deacons and preach the Sunday service once that goal was met." Part of the reason he did these things, Bowman said, was because Collins understood that his efforts needed to reach out to those who might not typically attend. "He was someone who believed in not being ashamed to say where you came from, what your background was. If you came through a hard time, if you went down a hard road, that was part of your testimony," Bowman said. "So he was one of those people who connected with people, because he could relate to the roads they had been down. "There's lots of preachers, lots of good preachers, and he was a good preacher. One of the best I've heard. But more than that, he was a pastor," Bowman said. "He was somebody who understood a person's heart." Reach Braden Bunch at (803) 774-1272. Posted in Local news, News on Saturday, May 26, 2012 DONNIE E. COLLINS The Rev. Donnie Ely Collins, 61, husband of Miriam Hudson Collins, died Friday, May 25, 2012, in Kershaw County. Born in Manning, he was a son of the late Leroy Eugene and Liela Mae White Collins. The Rev. Collins was the senior pastor of Green Acres Assembly of God Church for 37 years. He also owned and operated Collins and Son Welding. Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Wendy R. Collins (Patrick), Cindy C. Pierson and Christina C. Papania (Jon), all of Sumter; 12 grandchildren, Donald Collins III, Hudson Collins, Bailey Collins, Jordan Collins, Erin Collins, Brandon Collins, Haley Papania, Kylie Papania, Summer Pierson, Troy Pierson, Heather Ross and Whitney Hawkins; seven great-grandchildren; one brother, Linwood L. Collins of Camden; three sisters, Madeline Brown, Marcell Hill (Larry) and Drucilla Lynch (Larry), all of Sumter; three special daughters, Julie Thompson, Lisa Sanders and Johnnie Morse; a special son, Daniel Brunson; one daughter-in-law, Jackie Collins Mayes; a special grandson, Chandler Merck-Powell; and a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a son, Donnie E. Collins Jr. (Patti); and three brothers, William “Bubba” Friel, John Friel and David Collins. Funeral services will be held at 4:30 p.m. today at Green Acres Assembly of God with the Revs. Michael Bowman, Victor Smith, Dr. James Chandler and Randy Collins officiating. Burial will be in Green Acres Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the home. Pallbearers will be Thomas Thompson, Kenny Newman, Simon Winburn, Chris Winburn, Danny Burkett, Terry Evans, Bill Mitchell and Mark Yarbourgh. Honorary pallbearers will be deacons of Green Acres Assembly of God. Memorials may be made to Green Acres Assembly of God, 537 Lewis Road, Sumter, SC 29154. Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements. Posted in Obituaries on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 [3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] | |
| _UID | 553B338495DA43CBA834C2FB725217649CCD | |
| Death | 25 May 2012 | in a head-on collision along U.S. 521 near the border of Sumter and Kershaw counties [8] |
| Burial | 29 May 2012 | Green Acres Assembly of God Church Cemetery, 537 Lewis Road, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina [9] |
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| Person ID | I81971 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 30 May 2023 | |
| Father | LeRoy Eugene COLLINS d. Bef 12 Feb 2005 | |
| Mother | Leila Mae WHITE d. Bef 12 Feb 2005 | |
| _UID | C48B0578370B4D54ABC93CA692EA917789E2 | |
| _UID | C48B0578370B4D54ABC93CA692EA917789E2 | |
| Family ID | F56967 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Miriam HUDSON | |||||||||
| _UID | C9BAE52ED6AA43A3B64C49A36776F835F4CD | |||||||||
| _UID | C9BAE52ED6AA43A3B64C49A36776F835F4CD | |||||||||
| Children |
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| Family ID | F56965 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||||
| Last Modified | 23 Mar 2026 | |||||||||
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