During the fall of 2016, some eight months before my Grandfather’s passing, I came up with what would turn out to be an insane idea: To attempt to interview, and document via audio, the story of his life. What follows on this website is hardly that, but instead simply the words, the stories, and the voice of John Francis Collins. 

Instead of a touching tale of his 89 years on Earth, what we ended up with was a hodge-podge collection of random stories, jokes, and tangents about the Catholic nuns of his youth. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is exactly how he would want it. 

Listeners will realize that some of the most important aspects of his life have been left completely out of this interview. In what was to be a four part interview over the course of a year, would sadly become just one. Before the opportunity came to dive more deeply into his personal and family life, he became ill and ultimately passed away. 

In attempting to work on this project over the last few years, I found that each time I began to play and edit the audio, hearing his voice was extremely hard. But if I could work up the courage to get beyond the first few saddening seconds, I found myself laughing aloud, alone in my attic, over and over at the same stories. The same stories I’d heard him tell dozens of times in my life. 

I hope you can find some laughter in his stories as well. 

- Brian Van Etten