Obituary of Timothy Collins

Entrepreneur, Financier, Art Collector, Auto Racer, Sportsman - Dead at 76
Timothy Collins died peacefully at home in Palo Alto, CA on Monday, May 29th of complications from lung cancer. Born in Cheyenne, WY on June 8, 1940, and raised in Colorado, he was blessed to live a rich life in Colorado, New York, Nevada and California. Fear and self-doubt were foreign to Tim as relentless optimism and a keen sense of humor drove his remarkable life.
Tim lost his father, was married and became a father all before his 18th birthday. He founded Collins Securities Corporation and built it to a national presence in the investment community, with offices in Denver, New York and Los Angeles, while in his 20s. He also co-founded the Denver Spurs professional hockey team and served on various civic boards in Denver.
Tim relocated to New York City in the late 1960s, financed natural resource companies and other ventures, became involved in the art world, served on the Whitney Friends Council and forged friendships with, and supported artists including Alice Neel and Robert Smithson. Tim's portrait by Alice Neel done in 1971 illustrates this obituary.
In the late 1970s he formed United Mining Corporation and relocated to Reno, NV to launch the New Savage Mine to re-mine the Comstock Lode in nearby historic Virginia City. While in Reno, Tim also worked as a business consultant, launched a PC business, served on the Reno Planning Commission and was active with the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art.
Tim re-located to San Francisco in 1993, where he was a partner in several boutique investment banks including most recently Sutter Securities. He also founded KleenSpeed Technologies, focused on electric vehicle technology and developed one of the earliest electric racecars, the KleenSpeed EV-X11 which won the ReFuel time trials at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2010 and 2011, driven by Collins, and set a track record at ReFuel 2012, driven by Kevin Mitz. KleenSpeed's earlier generation West WX10 electric racecar also driven by Tim, recorded the fasted lap at the inaugural Refuel in 2009.
He is survived by devoted partner, Laura Reyes of Palo Alto, CA; brother Michael Collins of Colorado Springs, CO; children Timothy Collins, Jr. of Denver; David Collins of Long Island City, NY; Joel Collins of Oceanside, CA; Veronica Collins Roberts of Brooklyn, NY; and KC Charette of Boca Raton, FL and eight grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Spangler Mortuaries Mountain View, CA Chapel on Sunday, June 4, 2017. Tim will be buried in his home town of Colorado Springs, CO following a memorial service Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 10am in the Chapel at Evergreen Cemetery.




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