Patricia M. Collins is an American civic leader and politician who served as the mayor of

Caribou, Maine Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 7,396 at the 2020 census, and between the 2010 and 2020 census it was the fastest-shrinking city in Maine. The city is a service center for the agri ...

from 1981 to 1982. She has chaired numerous local and state boards and organizations, including the Caribou School Board, the Maine Committee for Judicial Responsibility and Disability,

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spi ...

Maine, and the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

Board of Trustees. She was inducted into the

Maine Women's Hall of Fame The Maine Women's Hall of Fame was created in 1990 to honor the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Maine. The induction ceremonies are held each year during March, designated as Women's History Month. Nominees are chosen by the ...

in 2005. Collins is the matriarch of a political family: her husband, Donald Collins, was also a former mayor of Caribou and four-term state senator, and her daughter,

Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Co ...

, is the senior

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from Maine.

Early life and education

Born Patricia McGuigan in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and raised in

Port Jervis, New York Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

, Collins earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the

in 1970 and a second bachelor's degree in art from the

University of Maine at Presque Isle The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMaine Presque Isle or UMPI) is a public college in Presque Isle, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine System and one of two University of Maine System schools in Aroostook County (the other bein ...

Career

Collins has been active on many local and state boards and organizations. She was a member of the Caribou School Board from 1967 to 1975, serving as chair of that body in her final year. She was director of the Caribou Public Library, advisory board member of the

Maine Public Broadcasting Network The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (abbreviated MPBN and branded as Maine Public) is a state network of public television and radio stations located in the U.S. state of Maine. It is operated by the Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation, whic ...

, member of the Cary Medical Center Auxiliary, member of the University of Maine at Presque Isle committee on graduate studies, member of the

Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. Kn ...

Emergency Medical Services Committee, and chair of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Caribou Flood Disaster Fund. She was the religious education coordinator for the Holy Rosary Catholic Church for eight years. She chaired the Maine Committee for Judicial Responsibility and Disability, and

Maine. In 1987 she became a member of the University of Maine Board of Trustees, serving as chairman of that board from 1991 to 1994. In 1993 she was a member of the board's five-person search committee for a new University of Maine chancellor following the resignation of

Robert Woodbury Robert Woodbury (1938 - September 12, 2009) was an American politician and university administrator. Woodbury was the Chancellor of the University of Maine system from 1986 to 1993. In 1994, Woodbury ran in the Democratic Party's primary for Gov ...

Mayoralty

Collins joined the Caribou City Council in 1978. In January 1981 she was unanimously elected mayor of Caribou, making her the second woman to fill that post. Her appointment made her and her husband the first married couple to each serve as mayor of the city; Donald Collins was the second mayor of Caribou in 1968. In November 1981 she ran for a second term as mayor against a field of five candidates. Both she and incumbent deputy mayor Roy W. Doak retained their seats.

Other activities

Collins is an artist. In 1991 she exhibited her portrait series of Maine legislators at several University of Maine venues.

Honors and awards

In 2005 she was inducted into the

. With the induction of her daughter, United States Senator

, in 2011, it marked the first time both a mother and daughter became members of the Maine Women's Hall of Fame.

Family

She and her husband

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

had six children. Donald was the retired president of the S. W. Collins Company, a fifth-generation lumber business now led by two of their sons. Donald also served as mayor of Caribou in 1968 and was a four-term state senator. Their daughter,

, is currently serving her fifth term as the senior United States Senator from Maine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Patricia M. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Mayors of places in Maine People from Caribou, Maine Women mayors of places in Maine Maine city council members University of Maine people University of Maine at Presque Isle alumni University of Maine alumni Painters from Maine School board members in Maine Colombian emigrants to the United States Women city councillors in Maine Collins family of Maine 21st-century American women