Kelsey Collins February 2, 1951 - March 29, 2015

Kelsey Collins chose to take her life Sunday afternoon, March 29.

A resident of Sisters since 1999, Kelsey was born in Los Angeles on February 2, 1951.

She is survived by her sister, Barbara Malland, her niece, Darla Deats, and grandnephew, Caleb, of California and numerous friends world-wide.

From an early age, she welcomed adventure, lived in Europe and traveled the world. Prior to Sisters, she lived in the eastern Sierra ski resort of Mammoth Lakes, California, where she explored many facets of a writing career.

Many here knew her in her roles as author, speaker, elder-advocate, hospice volunteer and counselor. She was not one to hide her opinions or emotions, which could be refreshing or irritating one moment to the next. She loved her animals, taking them for long walks on the many trails around Sisters. She loved to laugh, dance, live with gusto, give generously and dwell in wonder. She was not afraid to challenge others with "what if" or to swear in a church. "Life, wide open" came to be her tagline.

Kelsey did not hide many of the hardships of her past, instead using them as fodder for earnest self-growth and examples in her speaking engagements at the Spiritual Awareness Center and Partners in Care in Bend, and other events in Oregon and beyond.

She spoke often and openly about death, the process of dying, the importance of palliative care and how spending time with our elders and those close to death enriches us all. She was a huge promoter of opening conversations about death, which, after all, is the one sure thing about living.

Kelsey often said "Things happen for us, not to us," and her efforts to heal her wounds made her a counselor and hospice volunteer who understood much of the pain and dysfunction others wade through as well. In her words, "Everyone, everything that comes into my life is an ally. Here to help me grow, learn and heal. Here to help me be of greater service to myself and others."

Her 2008 book, "Exit Strategy: Leaving this Life with Grace and Gratitude," is a daring, profound, and laugh-out-loud humorous story of the time Kelsey spent visiting a friend, Bee Landis, during the last few years of Bee's life in a nursing home. Through their extraordinary conversations about life's large questions and often taboo subjects, she showed possibilities for how we can prepare to exit this life well - and in the process live a more fulfilling life.

For the last year, Kelsey immensely enjoyed creating her weekly radio show on Sisters' local station: KZSO 94.9FM. The format brought "heartworthy" stories gleaned from the news, guests, listener stories and her most frequent cohort on the show was station program director Rick Olson. She invited any topic except politics, creating 49 lively discussions from "What are Your Gifts?" to "The Most Ridiculous Thing that Ever Happened to You as a Kid" to "Free Will" to "Surrender vs. Giving Up."

In her show "The Gifts of Robin Williams," she quoted Peter Coyote's comments on Robin Williams' death, "...We would be doing his life and memory a dis-service if we did not extract some wisdom from his choice, which if we ponder deeply enough, will turn out to be his last gift."

The Kelsey Collins Show podcasts and her blogposts introducing each half-hour show are still available at http://www.kelseycollins.podbean.com.

Community celebrations will be held:

April 26 at 5:15 p.m .: Remember and Celebrate Kelsey's Remarkable Life and Spirit: The Spiritual Awareness Center at the Old Stone Church, 157 N.W. Franklin Ave., Bend.

April 11 at 7 p.m .: Celebration of Life for Kelsey Collins: The Belfry, 302 E. Main Ave., Sisters. Please bring any of the following "if it pleases you": memories, stories, photos, quotes, and/or a flower to celebrate her life in Kelsey-style with laughter, tears, music, dancing and perhaps intense emotions and uncensored words. It will start at 7 p.m., and, yes, the celebration will continue past Kelsey's 8 p.m. bedtime.

"If it pleases you," make a donation to BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond, or Partners in Care in Bend in honor of Kelsey Collins.