Paulena Marie Collins, 81, of Winner, South Dakota passed away on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at the Winner Regional Long-Term Care Facility in Winner, SD.  Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 10:30AM at the Christ Lutheran Church in Winner, SD.  Burial will follow in the Winner City Cemetery.  A visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at the Christ Lutheran Church from 6-7:00PM with a prayer service beginning at 7:00PM.

Paulena was born on October 4, 1943, to the late Bernard Frank and Martha (Deiss). She and her sisters were raised by Martha and stepfather Barney Rank. They had many fun times growing up in Chamberlain near the Missouri River. She graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1961.

She met her husband of 63 years, Vern Collins, on a blind date with classmates Joe and Judy Fott, driving around Chamberlain. This led to many late nights for Vern driving home from dates with Pauline in Chamberlain. Vern proposed marriage in his family farm pasture with an audience of cows as witness.

They got married on Oct 28, 1961, and moved to the farm and ranch near Witten, where they raised their family of four children. Paulena assisted on the farm with feeding the family and hired help, raising chickens and vegetable gardening. Paulena and Vern moved into the Golden Prairie Manor in December 2021, and Paulena then moved into the Winner Regional Long-Term Care facility in January 2024.

Paul, as she was affectionately known, was a kind, warm woman with a playful sense of humor, a joyful spirit and a passion for life.  She was known for her beautiful eyes and smile. A fun time was always had with her sisters and families and her mom at reunions and holiday gatherings in Chamberlain. Living close by enabled Paulena to watch over her mom's care in her later years.

She adored the family pets, including most recently their dog Scooter, and the cats Jake and Jingles. She was an avid reader and enjoyed watching animal rescue shows, nature programs, movies, and playing board/card games. She was involved in weekly team bowling doubles with Vern for years. The family had fun going to the drive-in movie theater and Dairy Queen for ice cream treats. She liked to go shopping, especially in bookstores. She had a beautiful singing voice. She found joy in singing gospel songs in church and the sing-a-longs when she lived at the Golden Prairie Manor, remembering all the lyrics, despite dementia.

Paulena was a really good cook, and passed down family favorite recipes, such as meatloaf, goulash, lasagna and caramel rolls, to her children. She was supportive of her children, cheered them on at sporting events and Warriorettes drill team and other endeavors throughout their lives. She enjoyed taking trips with her family to sightsee, such as Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, Jamaica, North Dakota folk music festival with Vern, and visiting family across the country.

She was very strong, persevering through hardships such as the loss of a baby Connie during childbirth, and losing beloved 16-year-old son Toby to a farm accident. She survived non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer, had both knees replaced, and suffered from dementia in her last several years.

She is preceded in death by Bernard Frank, Barney Rank, Martha Rank, daughter Connie, son Toby and sister Jeanette.

A beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Paulena is survived by her loving husband Vern, children Cindy Collins, Guy (Anita) Collins, Leslie (Chad) Bowar, grandchildren Sean (Eliza), Erin, Brendan, great granddaughter Daphne, and sisters Juanita, Lorraine and Linda and many nephews, nieces and cousins. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her.

On behalf of her entire family, we want to extend a special thank you to the staff at the Golden Prairie Manor, and the Winner Regional Long-Term Care facility for their devoted care.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be donated to: https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate or https://www.aspca.org/ways-to-give