DATAW ISLAND, S.C. - Harold Collings, Jr., M.D., passed away on Wednesday, June 17th, following a brief illness. He was 85. Born in Rockville, Indiana in 1924, he enrolled at Purdue University, was selected for an Army medical training program, and in 1949, graduated from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Collings completed his internship in neurology at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. and served in Korea and Japan during the Korean War. He returned to Walter Reed for his residency, finishing as Chief Resident in Neurology in 1955. From 1958-1961, Dr. Collings worked at the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, PA. He then joined the faculty at the Medical College of Georgia as an Associate Professor, becoming Professor and Chief of the Division of Neurology, and receiving numerous awards for excellence in teaching. In 1972, Dr. Collings founded a private medical practice in Augusta, GA. and consulted at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (Columbia), and at two VA hospitals (Dublin and Augusta, GA); at the same time serving as Chairman of the Board and Chief Operating Officer of Medical Facilities of Augusta, Inc. After retiring from medicine in 1986, Dr. Collings lived on Fripp Island and Dataw Island, SC. Dr. Collings was an avid duplicate bridge player, becoming an A.C.B.L. Silver Life Master in 2009. He also was a former dog breeder and participant in American Kennel Club shows and a lifelong gardener. Dr. Collings is survived by a beloved wife, Juanita, two sons, Webb and Raymond Collings, two step-children, Mark Merideth and Deanna Coleman, and two grandchildren, Chelsea and Jeremy Collings. A memorial service will be held on July 2, 2009 at 3:30 P.M. in the Carolina Room at the Dataw Island Club in Beaufort, S.C. Sign the guestbook at AugustaChronicle.com

The Augusta Chronicle-June 24, 2009