ALEXANDER HARRISON COLLINS

Mr. Collins died suddenly, of as yet unknown causes, at his residence in Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn, on February 7th, 2017.

Mr. Collins, known to friends and family as "Alex," was born on March 20th, 1989, at East Cooper Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., to William A. Collins III and the former Maria Linda Kalson. He was his parents’ only child, and brought great joy to their lives.

As an infant, Alex lived on Sullivan’s Island, S.C., where he developed a love of sand, surf, and salt air, which never left him. He relocated multiple times during his life, but never to anywhere far from the coastline. During his childhood, Alex moved to lower Manhattan, to Coral Gables, Florida, back to Sullivan’s Island, then to Anna Maria Island, Florida, to Pawley’s Island, S.C., and then back to Charleston, S.C., as his father pursued his medical training and career as a physician. Alex enjoyed each place of residence, and made lifelong friends from each locale.

Alex attended Porter-Gaud School in Charleston for grades six through twelve, and was graduated with the class of 2007. He pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he was graduated in 2011 with an honors B.A. degree in religious studies, and a minor in Spanish. If Porter-Gaud and U.C.-Santa Barbara awarded honorary degrees for excellence in surfing, Alex most certainly would have received those awards, as well; he was an avid surfer, which he enjoyed with his friends and his father.

After college, Alex attended law school at Lewis and Clark University in Portland, Oregon, graduating with the class of 2015. He enjoyed a summer internship in New Delhi, India after his second year. During his third year, in addition to attending classes, Alex worked in the public defenders’ office in Vancouver, Washington, where he felt pride in caring and advocating for those often disadvantaged people on the margins of society.

After a year spent traveling, surfing and improving his Spanish in Central America, Alex moved to New York, where he was employed at the Gehi Law Firm, in the immigration practice area, work that he found especially interesting and rewarding, again helping those in need. He also found his lifestyle in Brooklyn to be very stimulating, and enjoyed the diversity of his neighborhood, Stuyvesant Heights.

Mr. Collins was preceded in death by his grandparents, Mr. Norman M. Kalson, and Mr. and Mrs. William A. Collins, Jr., and his aunt, Elizabeth Murray Willis. In addition to his parents, who continue to reside in Charleston, he is survived by his maternal grandmother, Emilia Radomska Bentz and her husband, Raymond Bentz, of Panama City, Florida; his aunt, Eugenia Collins Allen and her husband, Marshall Allen, of Charlotte, N.C. and Awendaw, S.C., two uncles, Michael V. Kalson, of San Antonio, Texas and Norman M. Kalson, Jr. of Ramrod Key, Florida, and his beloved pets Augie and Blanca.

A memorial service to celebrate Alex’s life is planned for Monday, March 27, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Cross Episcopal Church on Sullivan’s Island, S.C. Visitation with family will immediately follow the service, in the Great Hall at the church. There will also be a visitation for friends and family at the home of Elizabeth and Charles Sullivan, 35 Church Street, Charleston, SC, Sunday, March 26, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The family requests no flowers, please. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Alex’s memory, to one of the following charities: Charleston Animal Society, 2455 Remount Road, N. Charleston, SC, 29406; the Porter-Gaud Foundation, 300 Albemarle Road, Charleston, SC, 29407.

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