Lynda Collins Passes Away....

THE SHRINK

THE SHRINK

1
Lynda Collins died this weekend from pneumonia. I had the pleasure of working with Lynda for several years when I hired her as a featured writer at my former place of business...

I also had the pleasure of meeting her and former boyfriend Mike Lee several times.

Lynda was very passionate about working and she will always be remembered for her contributions to the Las Vegas Review Journal and Vegas Insider as well. It was VI's loss when she left them to work with me...

My condolences go out to all of her dear Friends and Family...

May she rest in peace and I am grateful for all that she did...

THE SHRINK
 
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Journeyman

Journeyman

EOG Master
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Hard to believe it was already over 3 years ago her boyfriend Mike Lee also passed away, I think it was a stroke if I recall correctly...

She couldn't have been that old, any idea of her approximate age?

RIP
 
munson15

munson15

I want winners...
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

My condolences on the loss of your friend, Ken. I'm guessing that Mike Lee is the same gentleman who wrote "Betting the Bases" among other works. I enjoyed his writing style immensely, and although I wasn't familiar with her, I appreciate you letting us view the obit that 34% posted. Sounds like a great lady.
 
winkyduck

winkyduck

TYVM Morgan William!!!
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

they say it is never nice to say bad things about the dead so i won't comment on her writing work - but it is sad to see her leave and at not that old of an age. she will be missed
 
The General

The General

Another Day, Another Dollar
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

My condolences go out to all of her dear Friends and Family...


RIP
 
Ego74

Ego74

1
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

thank you for posting that 34 %, know a lot more about her than I did before.

My condolences go out to all her family and friends
 
tuleythetout

tuleythetout

2
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Thanks for posting that here, Shrink.
Culver, my condolences go out to you as well as I know you knew Lynda well as the first time we met was at her and Mike Lee's house.
 
S

Stephen

EOG Addicted
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Lynda was quite a lady. She was a straight shooter with a lot of guts. She also had a kind heart and was a great cook. She could be very generous and caring.

I worked with her for many years at the Review-Journal and later at Vegas Insider. She was the first sports gaming writer at the R-J and broke many stories. She covered many beats and probably was the R-J's finest bowling writer. Lynda was an excellent feature writer and sharp copy editor. She had a knack for enticing great quotes.

It has been very tough for gaming writers these last couple of years with offshore advertising money all but dried up. Few places are paying for writers. But Lynda had been keeping busy writing for Dave Tuley's growing website, View from Vegas. Nobody did a more thorough job than Lynda in covering the various contests in Las Vegas. She brought a lot of passion to her job and life.

Writing RIP for someone who has passed has become a cliche. But in Lynda's case it couldn't be more appropriate. Rest in peace Lynda. You earned it.
 
C

ComptrBob

EOG Master
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Very sad news.

I had limited interactions with Lynda via PMs and e-mail, but I feel like I've lost a friend even though we never met in person.
 
Bucsfan67

Bucsfan67

EOG Master
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

sorry to hear about the loss of your friend......when i first saw this title i was thinking the Wonder Woman had died.....and im not saying that as a joke, i was just mixing her up with Lynda Carter......i am sorry to hear though, i am not familiar with her, many here seem to be..

rip
 
Jeff Jones

Jeff Jones

2
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

I used to whack Mike Lee's tout activities like a banshee.

After he died, she used to write me very thoughtful stuff, always defending Mike.

We got along great.

61 is tough.
 
Culver

Culver

EOG Veteran
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Thought I would post a couple of pictures that Kay found of Lynda Collins. This is Lynda (on right). She loved to entertain and would cook and bake for days in preparation for hosting a get together. This particular affair was on May 28, 2001 and was a going away party for Kay and I, as we prepared to move back to Indiana.





 
Culver

Culver

EOG Veteran
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Mike and Lynda at one of our annual summer BBQ's at my house, probably August 2000. Mike loved to do impressions and one of his best was Billy Bob Thornton/Sling Blade. He loved that character so much that often when you took his picture he would drop into character for the camera.

 
Culver

Culver

EOG Veteran
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Thought I would post this picture, as unflattering as it is, since it was snapped when nobody was even aware they were being photographed. From left to right, Dave Sanchilli, Jimmy Rotunda, Lynda, Stephen Nover, Mike, Edna Luckman (owner of Gamblers Book Club), Alf Musketa and Mark Franco. Thought it poignant, as three of these people have now passed on (Edna died a few years ago) and Dave Sanchilli, one of my best friends in Vegas and the former Race and Sports Book Director of the Golden Nugget and the Aladdin, suffered a severe stroke last year.

You just never know.


 
munson15

munson15

I want winners...
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Russ, my sincerest condolences on the loss of your friend. I went to the GBC store my last trip to Vegas 6 years ago, and although I can't tell you if Edna was there (you don't mention the year she passed away) I can tell you that everyone there was so nice and hospitable that I bought an extra book just to show my appreciation.

If she was alive, it may have been Edna (it was an elderly woman for sure) who corrected me when I told her I was thinking of betting Wade Burton (she gently let me know his name was Ward) in that Sunday's Daytona 500, which he won. Thanks for sharing the photos, they brought back good memories of a wonderful trip, and may Edna, Mike and Lynda rest in peace. Also sorry to hear of your friend Dave's troubles.
 
tuleythetout

tuleythetout

2
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

A memorial gathering will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, for her friends, co-workers and readers in the Plaza Hotel?s Dome Sports Lounge (formerly the Center Stage Restaurant) overlooking Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. When I was discussing options with Lynda's daughter, Jennifer, she said that some of their happiest times were when her mom was covering the pro bowlers tour and the pros always stayed at the Plaza and the Collins family ate and drank often at that restaurant. With that location now being a sports lounge, it seems doubly appropriate.

Obviously not every one who wants to attend will be able to as there's never a perfect time to fit everyone's schedule but the family and myself look forward to seeing whoever can make it.

In honor of her lifelong love of animals, especially dogs, Collins? family requests that in lieu of flowers that all gifts or memorials be made to the Humane Society of the United States either through the Dewey Veterinarian Hospital in Las Vegas or through shelters nationwide or at hsus.org.

P.S Great photos, Russ. I forwarded them to Jennifer.
 
F

Fordfield

EOG Addicted
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Sorry to hear shrink.....she kind of resemble Tammy Faye Baker...may she rest in peace........
 
A

Alan

EOG Enthusiast
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Everyone that knew Lynda knows that the loss of Mike was very difficult for Lynda. Her health was not good when Mike died and it got worse. I communicated with her on Christmas day and was so pleased that she seemed to be doing much better and was looking forward to moving forward with her life.

To say she was a good cook is a gross understatement. To say that she was a loyal friend is equally as much of an understatment. My thanks go to Culver as he is responsible for me knowing both Lynda and Mike ---- my life is more complete from sharing time with them. Hopefully she is smiling and laughing with Mike as he is doing his Elvis impression.

Lynda, thank you for all of the enjoyment you shared with me. As Stephan said, you earned the right to rest in peace and happiness. Jennifer was special to Lynda and Lexi was the greatest --- best to the both of you.

Alan
 
Culver

Culver

EOG Veteran
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> </TD><TD width="95%" background=/images/headers/newsheader-tileBack.gif></TD><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--END News Section Header Table--><SCRIPT language=javascript1.2 src="http://a449.g.akamai.net/7/449/1776/000/button.clickability.com/577/button_1/button.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=JavaScript> window.onerror=function(){clickURL=document.location.href;return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=parent.location.href; </SCRIPT><NOBR></NOBR>

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]Published February 22, 2008. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]COLLINS, LYNDA [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]<TABLE cellPadding=5 width="95%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="20%" bgColor=#eeeeee> </TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%" rowSpan=2>[FONT=Verdana, Arial]LYNDA COLLINS Lynda Collins, a pioneer among female sportswriters, passed away Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008, at Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas. Born Lynda Jean Morstadt in Akron, Ohio, June 30, 1946, to Ray and Gladys Morstadt, she got her looks from her mother, the former Gladys Perry who was a beauty pageant queen in the early 1940s, and her love of sports from her father, who was the leading scorer on the Marquette basketball team from 1932-35. Mr. Morstadt played semi-pro in the National Basketball League (this was before the NBA was founded in 1946) for the Goodyear Tire / Rubber Company in Akron, where he met his bride-to-be. The family moved to the Chicago suburb of Waukegan, Ill., where Lynda grew up as a big fan of the White Sox and the Bears. As a teenager, she would sneak out of her house and take the train to the South Side of Chicago to see the White Sox play at old Comiskey Park. While still in high school, she started writing for her hometown paper, the Waukegan News-Sun. She studied journalism at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., and was editor of the student newspaper, "The Chronicle," and wrote about civil rights issues during a time of racial unrest, both on campus and throughout the country. She was graduated by NCC in 1968, the year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Lynda Morstadt became the Midwest's first female sportswriter in 1969, when she was hired by the Chicago's American newspaper. She encountered discrimination of her own. In the book "Jerome Holtzman on Baseball: A History of Baseball Scribes," Mr. Holtzman describes when he was the local chairman for the Baseball Writers Association of America and he was able to keep Lynda in the White Sox press box, though the team was able to ban her from the clubhouse. Lynda's career took her to stints with the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Associated Press bureau in Los Angeles (where she covered such events as the 1976 death of Howard Hughes and the 1976 presidential campaign visits of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter), the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, and to Houston where she did a sports talk radio show and pre- and post-game shows for the Astros. She returned to Illinois and met John Collins, whom she married in Waukegan, Ill., Dec. 31, 1982. They were on the way to moving to San Diego in 1983, when they stopped in Las Vegas. Lynda was hired by the Review-Journal and fell in love with the city. She wrote feature stories, covered the pro bowling tour and became the paper's first sports gaming writer in 1984. That became her niche, as she went on to work for Sportsform, the weekly gaming newspaper that is now known as GamingToday, in 1990, and then moved into cyberspace for sports betting websites that have included theprescription, gambling911, phoenixsports, vegasinsider, procappers, and most recently, the ViewFromVegas. Lynda's last wish was to be cremated and have her ashes scattered at Comiskey Park (she refused to call it by any corporate name) in Chicago and Del Mar Racecourse near San Diego. Lynda is survived by her husband, John Collins, 64, of Las Vegas; her daughter, Jennifer S. Collins, 36, of Aurora, Colo.; her granddaughter, Alexis R. Brown, 7, of Aurora, Colo.; her brother, William Morstadt of Waukegan, Ill.; her sister, Gail Driscoll of Chicago; nephews, Keith Barnett, Ryan Barnett and Eric Morstadt; nieces, Kris Barnett and Andrea Lack; and a Lhasa Apso, named Sox. In honor of her lifelong love of animals, especially dogs, Collins' family requests in lieu of flowers, that all gifts or memorials be made to the Humane Society. A memorial gathering will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, for her friends, co-workers and readers in the Plaza Hotel's Dome Sports Lounge (formerly the Center Stage Restaurant, where Lynda had many dinners when covering the pro bowlers tour in the 80s), overlooking Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.[/FONT]

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[/FONT]
 
THE SHRINK

THE SHRINK

1
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

Thank you Russ for sharing that...

I was also at her place so the pictures are a pleasant reminder of just how much I enjoyed being there as well...

She truly went out of her way when hosting a party...
 
R

richdakidd

EOG Member
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

I just want to say thank you to everyone for their sympathetivc thoughts. I remener Lynda when she first got married to John and I had the priviledge of also meeting their daughter Jennifer, whom I was very close to. Lynda was always very viberant and on the go. I lost touch with them for a while, but have been keeping in touch with John. John never mentioned to ,e about the incident of Lynda, but I found out after reading it on here. I lived in Waukegan for 29 years before moving to Arizona for the past 10 years. I had lost touch with Jennifer, so i wasn't able to know what had happened. My deepest sympathy for the loss of Lynda, we truly loss a great woman. She told me once that I ahould've moved to Vegas with them and became part of their family, but it wasn't the time for me to leave. So, if you are in contact with Jennifer again, send this message to her and tell her that she is always in my thoughts.

Richard Davis
 
Just a Man

Just a Man

2
Re: Lynda Collins Passes Away....

The pictures really get to you when you see them.

She had the angelic aura about her....

May the good lord enjoy her company.
 
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