In Celebration of Visionary Circle Member Virginia Miller Collier
IONS is pleased to honor Visionary Circle member Virginia (Gini) Miller Collier, along with her husband Roy William Collier, whose meaningful legacy will serve humanity for years to come. Their generous bequest of over $25,000 to IONS will seed essential work at the frontiers of science; promoting more conscious paradigms and practices; and advancing individual, social, and global transformation. We are deeply grateful.
Married in the Midwest in October of 1950, the couple led full and adventurous lives rich with travel and exploration. In 1951 they traveled from the Midwest to the San Francisco Bay area, where Roy worked at Kaiser Aluminum and Gini user her Bachelor's degree in Architectural Design at an electrical/mechanical engineer's office. In 1955, Roy's newly acquired Teacher's Certificate found them in Santa Rosa, California. In 1958 Roy applied for and received a Fulbright Exchange Teacher Grant for two years in Japan, where they both taught English. Four years later Roy was hired by the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, where they stayed 19 years. Leaves of absences and sabbaticals during that tenure took them to Athens and Paris, one year residing in each, and six months in Switzerland.
In 1981, both took early retirement and settled on ten acres of forest on Wagner Creek Road, three miles out of Talent, Oregon. Gini designed a passive solar home which they built themselves and lived in until after Roy's death, when Gini moved to Ashland. She deeply missed her lifelong companion but she created a life of beauty in the older Ashland home she remodeled. She was surrounded by many loving friends. On April 14, 2006 Virginia Collier died in her home. We honor the Collier’s lives and their spirit of generosity and support for the Institute with heartfelt gratitude.
