Deanna Kay Collins

October 15, 1970 — May 25, 2024

Deanna Kay Collins Profile Photo
Deanna Kay Collins, 53, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went home to be with her Lord on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, from complications of Lyme Disease. The family will greet friends from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 3, 2024, at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Marion, Iowa. A Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at the funeral home, with an additional visitation one hour prior to the service. Al Christopherson will officiate. Burial will take place at 3:00 p.m. at Fontana Cemetery in Hazleton, Iowa, where Tom Novak will officiate a Graveside Service. A livestream of the funeral service may be accessed on the funeral home website tribute page under “photos and videos or media,” starting at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The family will host a reception following the service.

Deanna was born on October 15, 1970, in Manchester, Iowa, the daughter of Ronald and Carma (Smith) Hon. She was a 1989 graduate of West Delaware High School and graduated in 1993, from Upper Iowa University, earning her degree in elementary education. In December of 1993, she trusted Christ as her own Saviour for Eternity. On November 26, 1994, Deanna was united in marriage to Seth Alex Collins of Hazleton, in Manchester. Together they had seven children which she lovingly raised. She worked as a substitute teacher, until her first child was born, and then homeschooled her own children. Deanna was in fellowship with the Saints at the Marion Gospel Hall. She enjoyed gardening, canning, organizing, and had a heart for helping older people. Deanna will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Deanna is survived and lovingly remembered by her husband of 29 years, Seth Collins of Cedar Rapids; seven children, Zachariah Collins of Cedar Rapids, Benjamin Collins (fiancé, Emily Wibben) of Cedar Rapids, Isaiah (Tyler) Collins of Davenport, Iowa, Rebekah (Jon) Novak of Highland, Wisconsin, twin sons, Elias and Samuel Collins, both of Cedar Rapids, and Shoshanna Collins of Cedar Rapids; three grandchildren, Evie, Wenzel, and Archie; and brothers, Larry (Donna) Hon of Manchester, and Kenny Hon of Dyersville, Iowa.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents and parents.

The Lamb of God for sinners died,
A victim on the tree;
He gave Himself a sacrifice,
to set the guilty free.

I seek no other argument,
I want no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died
And that He died for me.

The great Redeemer left the throne,
The radiant throne on high,
Surprising mercy! Love unknown!
To suffer, bleed and die!

He took the guilty sinner’s place,
And suffered in His stead;
For man (O miracle of grace!)
For man, the Saviour bled.

(The words of this chorus is what God used to reveal His Son to Deanna and she trusted in Him for her Salvation.)

Deanna Collins’s Testimony
I grew up in a Christian home, hearing the Gospel preached each Sunday evening and in many Gospel series. Through hearing the Gospel preached, I learned that I needed to be saved if I was ever going to be in Heaven. My sins were taking me to Hell. The thought of dying and of the Lord’s return both equally scared and concerned me. I did not want to be left behind if the Lord came. I knew that if He came before I was saved, that my doom would be sealed. I would never be in Heaven and, when I died, I would be in Hell.
As I got older, many times, I was troubled about being saved and wanted it. I tried often to believe but could not understand how to believe. During this time, I often resented going to a series of Gospel meetings. Because I did not have any time for myself. Between my schoolwork and daily life growing up on a dairy farm, it was always, “hurry to do this and then do that”. With the goal in mind to get to the meeting. All this, it was very tiring... up early, and to bed late. That’s just the way it was. Another reason I resented the meetings was I did not like talking to the preachers. They always seemed to find their way on our doorstep to greet me as soon as I got home from school. But, through it all, my desire to be saved never left me.
After graduating from college, now living on my own with a roommate, I was a substitute teacher and worked a night job at the Fareway Grocery Store in Manchester. On my birthday I had gotten a new car. It was a very nice car and I was very happy and thankful for how the day had went. Finally, had something that was a little nicer and more reliable. I came home from work that night and was opening my mail. In it was a birthday card from my grandpa. He always gave us a little cash and always included a Gospel tract. I looked at it, slipped it under my phone, shut the light off, and went to bed. As I was lying in bed, I began to ponder the day... I thought, wow, what a great day! I got a new car on my birthday! Then the next thought was… you finally have a new car, but what about your soul? This thought really hit me hard!! I had a hard time sleeping that night. The next many days, the thoughts were all about wanting to get the matter settled of my soul’s salvation. I read my Bible, Gospel tracts, prayed, and pondered.
Finally, wrote a note to a Gospel preacher that I knew quite well and asked him to come and see me… I wanted to talk. He came to see me, but we never talked about salvation. The day that he came, my roommate was home and he knew I probably would not want to talk with her around. Instead, he left and told the elders at the Manchester Gospel Hall that I was concerned about being saved and that if it would work out, he and another preacher would come for a Gospel series.
In December, a Gospel series with Al Christopherson and Roy Weber commenced. For the first time, I was looking forward to the meetings and wanted to go. Unfortunately, I could not go every night because I worked at Fareway in the evening but went as much as I could. I became more earnest than ever about my soul by listening to the Gospel each night. I did not have a teaching job on Monday and thought this was my perfect opportunity to get saved. I had all day. Again, read my Bible and every Gospel tract that I had. I tried and tried to believe… to no avail. I really wanted to go to the meeting that night but had to work at Fareway. Before leaving for work, I wrote a note asking the preachers to come visit me the next day as I could not get this figured out. I taped the envelope to the doors of the Gospel Hall and went to work. It was a long night at work, since I did not want to be there. I vowed that night, if the Devil sent a phone call through the next morning for a teaching job on Tuesday, I was not going to accept it.
Thankfully, a call never came though, so I had the day to myself. Again, I read my Bible and the Gospel tracts. I could not understand how to be saved. The verse “If the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.” 2 Corinthians 4:3, was true of me. The preachers came and visited in the afternoon, as they had received my note. They talked, read and prayed with me… It all meant nothing. Roy Weber said they were going to leave and asked me if I had read this Gospel tract… “Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment.” I looked at it and said, “I don’t know”. By now, I had read so many tracts and did not have a clue if that was one of them or not. I was so dejected, completely down, and out. I thought the preachers had come, talked, and now left me with another tract to read… like that was going to do any good. I had already read “hundreds” of tracts as it seemed. As I sat there on the couch with my eyes closed... down and out…., I thought, why am I so dumb, why can I not see it? This is it! I will just have to be one of the many that go to Hell. There is no salvation for me. I sat there for a few minutes and decided to pick up the tract that Roy Weber had left to see if it was one that I had read before. For whatever reason, it was not one I had in my piled-up stash that I accumulated through the years. I began to read it. I got to the words of a hymn, “It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.” Clearly, as never before, those words opened up to me… It is enough… He died for Me! It was Tuesday afternoon, December 14, 1993.
With my story there is always a little more to add. A few weeks later, as I was dusting my desk, I moved my phone and found the Gospel tract that my grandpa had given me in my birthday card. The tract was, “Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment”. Another copy of the same tract that I was reading when the Lord showed me, “It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me.”

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Deanna Kay Collins, please visit our flower store.

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Visitation

Monday, June 3, 2024

4:00 - 7:00 pm (Central time)

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3855 Katz Drive Marion, IA 52302

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Tuesday, June 4, 2024

9:30 - 10:30 am (Central time)

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3855 Katz Drive Marion, IA 52302

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Funeral Service

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

10:30 - 11:30 am (Central time)

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3855 Katz Drive Marion, IA 52302

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Tuesday, June 4, 2024

11:30am - 12:30 pm (Central time)

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Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Starts at 3:00 pm (Central time)

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