Obituary: Tyler Paul Collins (1993-2013)

Just shy of his 20th birthday, Tyler Paul Collins passed away on Wednesday, Feb 27th.

Born on April 23, Tyler grew up in Mountain View and currently studied at UC Santa Cruz. As a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz, he majored in Computer Science and at the time of his passing he was on the Dean's Honor List and had many close friends as well as a loving girlfriend whom he also loved very much.

As wonderful, hard-working student at Mountain View High School, he was well-liked by teachers and staff as well as his many friends at the school.

One of the highlights at MVHS was his involvement in Dance Spectrum which he joined after taking a jazz dance class and realizing how much he loved it. This was an example of Tyler's individuality. At that time, Dance Spectrum tended to attract many more girls than guys and as one of the few boys in the group he made his mark. He took part in most of the dances that the group performed in their show at the end of the year and was privileged be one of the choreographers. His dancing was awesome and it was one of the great joys of his life. In both his junior and senior years he was voted Most Inspirational Dancer for his class.

Tyler is survived by his mom, Rebecca Collins of Mountain View; dad, Paul Collins of Millbrae; brother, Jesse Collins of Mountain View; grandmother, Martha Frances Anderson of Los Altos; very close cousin, Shirley Bills and aunt, Martha Bills; uncle, Charles Anderson and former wife Sharron Anderson; aunt and uncle, Leslie and Mark Poniatowski; uncle, Michael Collins; aunt, Sabi Collins; aunt and uncle Elizabeth and Walter Collins of West Palm Beach; uncle, Mark Collins; and cousins, Daniel Poniatowski, Lisa Poniatowski, Ashley Anderson, Nicholas Anderson, Waigi Collins, Wagio Collins and Darryl Thomas. He is also survived by his loving girlfriend, Hanling Chang, as well as many very close, long-time friends. Tyler was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Warren Anderson; paternal grandmother Molly Collins; paternal grandfather, Henry Collins; uncle, Henry David Collins and cousin, Munutu Collins.

A celebration of Tyler's life was held on March 23rd at Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Avenue, Los Altos 94024.

Should you wish, donations in Tyler's name may be made to either MVHS Dance Spectrum, or to Tyler Collins Memorial Fund c/o Rebecca Collins at any Wells Fargo branch.

This obituary has been provided courtesy of the Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary.