In Fountain Valley, John Collins was the ultimate “hizzoner.”
As a seven-time mayor of his adopted home city and 28-year city councilman before stepping down in 2018, Collins proudly said his record may never be broken.
Collins died Thursday, July 9, at his home in Fountain Valley. He was 76.
An unofficial Mr. Fountain Valley as a cheerleader and advocate for the town he adopted in 1974, Collins could be found at just about every mayor’s breakfast, ribbon cutting and holiday ceremony.
“He waved the flag for Fountain Valley far and near,” said Larry Crandall, a former mayor and council colleague of Collins.
Although he had some arthritic pain and had shoulder surgery two weeks ago. Collins was believed to be in good health.
“This was unexpected,” said his daughter, Karen Cuerless.
Elected to the City Council in 1990, Collins predated the 12-year term-limit laws passed by the state in 2004. A councilman at the time, in the middle of his third term, the clock did not start ticking for him until 2006, his early tenure grandfathered in.
Collins did not shy from the debate. In an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times, he wrote that “Term limits are an arrogant statement that the voters are not smart enough to figure out who is doing a good job and who is not,” he wrote.
Collins believed in the will of the people who elected him, but also felt strongly about voting his conscience, his oldest son, Billy, former deputy police chief in Westminster, wrote in notes remembering his father.
Friends and colleagues remember John Collins as a robust, garrulous man with a big personality and an even bigger heart.
Billy Collins joked that his dad was always first in the buffet line and loved to slide jokes into any conversation. But he stood firm on his principles, regardless of popularity.
“I can say with certainty my dad did that,” Billy Collins wrote. “He didn’t care about what the popular vote was. If it was the best decision in his mind for the citizens of Fountain Valley, that’s how he voted.”
“He always loved the city,” said Steve Nagel, another City Council colleague for many years. “He did a lot of mentoring.”
An unofficial duty Collins often took upon himself was to take new reporters and city employees on tours of Fountain Valley with running commentary.
“He always ended up at the Boys & Girls Club as one of his stops,” said Tanya Hoxsie, CEO of the Huntington Valley facilities.
Collins was a volunteer and board member for the youth organization for 36 years and played a key role in the unification of the clubs for boys and girls 25 years ago and streamlining the creation of the Kingston Branch in Fountain Valley, Hoxsie said.
She said Collins was active and engaged with the board, even during the pandemic.
“He was in the game,” she said. “He would also ask a lot of questions and drove us crazy. But that’s why we loved him.”
Kim Constantine, a councilwoman and city gadfly, occasionally clashed with Collins politically, but said afterward, ‘we’d move past it and be social.”
As gracious and congenial as Collins was, he never quite got over the death of his wife, Barbara, in 2016. The couple met in Boston, where Barbara was a student. They were married in 1968.
“Since Barbara passed away, his life was hard,” Hoxsie said.
When people would ask how he was doing, Collins would often sigh and mention her.
With his thick Boston accent, Collins stood out in a crowd and he would tell stories about his boyhood back east and playing ball at Fallon Field in Roslindale, Mass., outside of Boston.
He played hockey as a youngster, worked for the Boston Red Sox for a time and maintained a rooting interest in all Beantown teams.
But mostly, he liked to talk Fountain Valley.
“He was relentless in his dedication to the city,” Crandall said.
Collins is survived by three children and their spouses, Billy Collins (Deana); Robert Collins (Kristi); and Karen Cuerless (Josh); and five grandchildren.
Funeral services were being arranged, but will be at Holy Spirit Church in Fountain Valley.