Harriett Hutchison Collins

Harriett Hutchison Collins, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, died on February 25, 2023, at the age of 95. She was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 2, 1927, the daughter of George Barkley and Aliena Hunter Hutchison. Harriett graduated from Atherton H.S. in Louisville, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. After working at the Aberdeen Proving Ground at the end of World War II as a” human computer.” She applied for a job in Elkton, Maryland. The interviewer reviewing her resume exclaimed, “This could not be your birthday! This is MY birthday!” A great pick-up line, Harry!. She married Harry Glenn Collins, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1953 and they moved to Lancaster, where he became employed at RCA and where he and Harriett raised their daughter, Janet.

Harriett was a long-time active member of First Presbyterian Church, Lancaster, Men’s Garden Club, Church Women United, and PEO sisterhood—an organization that gives scholarships to women for higher education. She was an avid and proficient bridge player and dedicated reader, most often biographies of historical figures.

She is predeceased by her parents, sister Helen Robinson, and husband Harry. She is survived by brother George B. Hutchison, M.D., of McKinney, Texas, daughter Janet Larson (Thomas) of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, grandchildren Clark (Phoebe) and Rachel (Micah DeBenedetto), and great-granddaughter Eleanor Larson, as well as nieces and nephews.

Celebration of her life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 140 E. Orange St., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on March 14th, at 11:00AM.