John Collis
February 01, 1946 - June 21, 2023
Obituary
John “Fred” Collis passed away peacefully on June 21, 2023. John was born in Plainfield, New Jersey on February 1, 1946 to John and Anna (Cremer) Collis. He lost his mother at a young age and spent time in an orphanage with his older brother, until they could be reunited with their father. He married Margaret “Punky” Carey in New Jersey and they had three children. They moved to Miles City, Montana in the early 1970's and John worked at Sears as an appliance repair serviceman. He later transferred to Sears in Billings and spent 37 years with the company then continued working for himself with John's Repair Service.
John met Carolyn Gibson at a church retreat at Camp Story in Wyoming in 1991 and they married in Billings in 1993. John and Carolyn enjoyed traveling together, square dancing, attending classic car shows and visits with their children and grandchildren. He was a proud classic car owner. John also loved socializing with friends and he was always ready to help a friend in need. John also enjoyed volunteering with the Billings Eagle Mount ski program and the Billings Crime Prevention Center. While their main home was in Billings, John and Carolyn enjoyed spending winters in Arizona at their second home in Mesa, where they treasured their time spent with their friends who became a second family to them.
He is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, Carolyn Gibson Collis; his three children Jody (Jeff King) Collis King, Cindy Collis and Fred Collis; his eight grandchildren: Casey Sager, James Wardle, Robert Wardle, Andrew Wardle, Taylor Collis, Lindsay Collis, Cody Collis, and Meredith King; six great grandchildren; four nephews: Chad Gibson, Drew Gibson, Robert Collis and Richard Collis; two nieces: Diane Collis and Gina Leyda; and cousin Bill (Aida) Spencer.
He was preceded in death by his parents John and Anna Collis and his brother and sister-in-law Robert and Kay Collis.
The family would like to thank the nurses and doctors at Saint Vincent HealthCare for the excellent care they provided.
In lieu of flowers the family would request donations to a Veteran or Police organization of your choice, as John appreciated those who served.
Visitation will be held at 9:00am on Tuesday June 27, 2023 at Dahl Funeral Chapel. A Funeral Service will follow at 10:00am.