Fredrick Martin Collison, 75, of Gainesville, Fla., died on Aug. 7, 2021, with his daughter by his side. He was born on Dec. 29, 1945, in Lewistown to Fredrick and Dorothy Collison (Wisehaupt).
While studying naval architecture and marine engineering at the University of Michigan, he met his first wife, Jeanne McGinn. After graduation, they moved to Delaware where he worked at Sun Ship as a naval ship architect. While living in Delaware, a daughter, Beth, was born, and he earned a master’s in marketing from the University of Delaware. He and Jeanne continued their education by pursuing doctorates at Michigan State University.
During his doctoral studies, Fred taught at Michigan State, the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Central Michigan University. After earning his Ph.D. in marketing and transportation in 1982, Fred began his dream job at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the School of Travel Industry Management. He enjoyed being able to travel and do tourism research throughout the South Pacific. In 2006, he and Jeanne made the difficult decision for him to retire as a professor emeritus after teaching at UH-Manoa to be closer to their daughter, her husband, Tom, and their infant granddaughter, Malia.
With the move to the mainland, Fred became passionate about his interest in astronomy, and he and Jeanne spent many times in autumn volunteering at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. He loved spending time with Malia and taking her on numerous road trips and a trip back to Hawaii in 2007.
After Jeanne died in August 2015, he met Vickie Lynn, and they married the following year. He and Vickie moved to Florida in 2019 where Fred enjoyed the lack of snow and discovered the wonders of Publix.
Fred was preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanne, his parents and brother, Gary. He is survived by his wife, Vickie, his daughter, Beth Grelinger (Tom), his granddaughter, Malia, his sister, Ellen, his sister-in-law, Linda, his stepchildren and their spouses, and numerous stepgrandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be held at St. James Catholic Church in Liberty, Mo., on Aug. 28, at 10:30 am. It will be streamed on their YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/StJames CatholicChurchLibertyMO) and Facebook page (facebook.com/StJames LibertyMO). A memorial Mass for Fred and Jeanne in Hawaii is planned for winter 2023. They will be interred at sea in Hawaii near where Fred’s father was interred. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to the school of Travel Industry Management at University of Hawaii, the Dark Skies Foundation or the St. James building fund.
