Collins, Grenold, 1907-1992

Grenold Collins was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1907. He studied at Stanford University and at the University of Washington. After leaving school, he worked at various jobs in Washington, California, Nevada, and Alaska. He then became a Deputy Game Warden, Game Warden, and Wildlife Agent (1932-1941) for the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, during which service he developed into a noted bush pilot. During World War II, Collins was a pilot for the Morrison-Knudsen construction firm. Following the war, he formed the Gren Collins Charter Airplane service and Big Game Guide service. Collins was elected to the Territorial Senate (1945-1947). For a number of years, he was the Western Alaska representative of the Salmon Division of the Libby, McNeill, Libby Company. He married Dorothy Booth Tibbs in 1941. Throughout his life, Grenold Collins was an active outdoorsman who was interested in a variety of activities including sport fishing, hunting, shooting, and bird watching. Because of these interests, he traveled extensively in Alaska, Canada, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. He recorded many of his activities in photographs and on motion picture film. Collins died in Anchorage in 1992. Dorothy Booth was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1909. She received a teaching degree from Monmouth College, and moved to Alaska in the early 1930s, where she taught at Russian Mission and McGrath. After marrying Grenold Collins, Dorothy Collins accompanied her husband on his many travels. She also owned and managed a shop in downtown Anchorage, as well as the Global Travel Agency. Dorothy Collins died in 1999.