Funeral services for Mr. Perry Dale “PD” Collins will be held Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Lauderdale, with Pastor David Etter officiating. Burial will follow at Lockhart Cemetery on Minnow Bucket Road in Toomsuba, Mississippi. Visitation will be on Friday, August 14, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home.
Perry Dale "PD" Collins, 73, of Toomsuba, Mississippi, passed away Thursday, August 6, 2026, at his home surrounded by his family after a short battle with liver cancer. He was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, loyal brother and generous friend. He was a hard-working provider that served the Lord faithfully.
Dale was born on July 4, 1953, at H.C. Watkins Hospital in Quitman, Mississippi. In Clarke County where he was raised, his family moved around from Stonewall to Quitman to the rural community at Pine Ridge, south of Snell. He learned early what it meant to work hard and to make do. What they say is true that you can take the man out of Clarke County, but you cannot take the Clarke County out of the man.
He graduated from Quitman High School in 1972, where he was proud to be a blue and gold Panther. He was part of the 1970 football team that was undefeated and won the Choctaw Conference Championship.
As a teenager, Dale found his way into the oil field, beginning a career that would span forty-five years and carry him around the world. He worked for companies including Western Oceanic, W&T, Hercules, Pride Offshore, and Seahawk Drilling, working his way up from roustabout to driller at twenty-three years old, eventually being promoted to offshore installation manager (OIM) formerly titled senior tool pusher, and even serving as a company man for a time. He worked on jack-up rigs in the Gulf of America, off the coast of Nigeria, in the Bay of Campeche of Mexico and in Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf. An impressive career for a man who never learned to swim, the result of his mother's standing rule that you cannot go swimming until you learn how to swim.
It was at Whynot Racetrack that he met the love of his life, Margie Gayle Pritchett. He and Gay were married November 12, 1976, and they established their home together on Minnow Bucket Road in Lauderdale County, where they built and shared a life together that lasted fifty years. She labored beside him and cared for him every step of the way.
Dale was a man who lived the life of a farmer. He farmed cattle, goats, rabbits, game chickens, and laying hens, and over the years kept a variety of exotic animals including emus, llamas, alpacas, and peacocks, just to name a few. He had a love for dogs and owned many throughout his life. He baled hay, planted a garden with okra and watermelons, and kept fruit trees. He was firm in his conviction that “everything is good for something” and “you have to have vision.” As a young adult, he had a passion for horse racing, competing in speed events at arenas around the community. When he was not offshore, he could be found most Mondays at the Meridian Stockyard, and he made regular pilgrimages to Hudson’s Treasure Hunt and Dirt Cheap stores. He enjoyed deer hunting, bream fishing, and learning history. He found peace while swinging on his front porch where he measured the rainfall and proudly displayed an American flag. He enjoyed life and had a quick wit, and he found humor in playing pranks on his wife and grandchildren. Loving all of his siblings fully, Dale had a close relationship with his brother Runt. The two of them planted a large field together every year, with rows of corn and peas. He enjoyed many family trips with Gay's parents and her sisters and their husbands and children.
Dale was a member and deacon of First Baptist Church of Lauderdale, where he attended weekly and served faithfully for many years. He was baptized there alongside his two sons, Eric and Jeremy, a proud moment for a Christian father. He later witnessed each of his four grandchildren following in that same decision.
In the past 18 years, Dale loved nothing more than watching his grandchildren grow up. “Paw-Paw," as he was called, loved them “a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.” He enjoyed their company and was at all of their activities and celebrations. He cherished hosting Sunday dinners after church prepared by his wife. Gathered weekly at their table were their children, grandchildren, and in-laws, Tommy and Libby Snell, as well as many other special friends.
Perry Dale Collins is survived by his wife, Gay Collins; his son, Eric Dale Collins; his son and daughter-in-law Jeremy Walter and Mandy Collins; his grandchildren, Elijah Collins, Isabella Collins, Caleb Collins, and Priscilla Collins; his honorary daughter, Brittany Pearson Miller (Matthew) and granddaughter Ellie Banks Miller; two of his brothers, Willard Collins and Danny "Runt" Collins; his two sisters, Barbara "Bob" Ford and Wanda Moulds; and his two sisters-in-law, Joyce Collins Fields and Lawriece Collins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Odie and Bernadeen Collins; three of his brothers, Edward Collins, Wayne Collins, and Billy Collins; and his father and mother-in-law, Tommy and Margaret Pritchett.
Pallbearers will be Runt Collins, Shane Adams, Dr. Ryan Ward, Daniel Fout, and Tommy Snell. Honorary pallbearers will be Clarence Qualls and Art Staunch.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Lauderdale, 3659 Lauderdale Rd, Lauderdale, MS 39335, or to Lockhart Cemetery, c/o Lynn Posey, 8702 Barnacastle Rd, Toomsuba, MS 39364.
Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.
Submitted by Robert Barham Family Funeral Home
