Longtime historical museum director Cheryl Collins dies at 68
Sep. 16—The longtime keeper of Riley County's history, Cheryl Collins, has died.
Collins was the director of the Riley County Historical Museum for more than three decades and a fount of knowledge for all kinds of local history. She passed Wednesday morning at age 68 following a brief illness.
Collins, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history from K-State, started with the Riley County Historical Museum in 1980 and had been director since 1988.
During a centennial celebration for the museum in 2016, board member Randy Martin spoke about Collins and her role in the community.
"History happens, and the way that we know about it is people record it and they write about it," he said. "But fortunately there are people, not only who make history and write history, but... who record that, interpret that, make it available to the rest of us and preserve it for generations out. We have been very blessed in Riley County to have Cheryl Collins doing that for us," Martin said. "And I think it's pretty safe to say that whatever happens in Riley County's future, the historians who record it will owe a debt to Cheryl Collins."
Collins was a life member of the Kansas Historical Foundation. She was first elected to the board of directors in 1989. She served as president in 1998.
According to the Kansas State Historical Society, since 1996 Collins also served as site administrator of the Goodnow House State Historic Site, which is operated through a partnership between the Kansas Historical Society, Riley County and the Riley County Historical Society.
She served as president and in other offices of the Kansas Museums Association; as American Association for State and Local History co-chair of the Kansas Leadership Team; speaker of the house for the Kansas Territorial Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee; on Manhattan C150! Sesquicentennial executive committee; chair of the Riley County Department Head Committee, the Arts and Humanities Association of Manhattan, and Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area Advisory Committee; and served two terms on the Governor's Council on Travel and Tourism.
"Kansas history is perhaps the most interesting, exciting and vital among all the 50 states," Collins once said. "Being a Kansan gives one a direct link and connection to that history."
Dale Cheryl Collins was born in Council Grove on Feb. 13, 1953. Her parents grew up outside Junction City and moved to Wichita where her father worked as an engineer for Beach, Cessna, and Boeing.
Her husband, G.W. Clift, is a writer. They have one son, John.
Collins and Clift met almost exactly 50 years ago in a K-State history class. They married on her graduation in 1976.
Collins' funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at First Methodist Church of Manhattan. An obituary will appear in The Mercury's weekend edition.
