Duncan - Dr. Dixie Grant-Collins passed away Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Duncan, Oklahoma due to complications associated with a prolonged illness. Known by her friends and family simply as Dixie, she was 73 years old.

Born Dixie Lee Grant Oct. 29, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois to Charles John and Frances Ann Grant, she was the eldest of four children, with two brothers, Charles John, Jr., and William Samson, and a sister, Valerie Ann.

Dixie's family moved from Chicago, Illinois to Vinita, Oklahoma in 1971. Dixie attended Elmhurst College in Illinois for her freshman year before transferring to Oklahoma State University, where she met her future husband, Gary Lee Collins. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1975, Dixie worked as a lab tech at Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton, then later at the Osteopathic Hospital in Tulsa.

Dixie returned to school to attend the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and earned her degree as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine in 1985, before training as a physician in the Emergency Department of Tulsa Regional Hospital. She became an Attending Physician, continuing to work in the Emergency Department at Tulsa Regional Medical Center until she retired.

In 1987, she married Gary Lee Collins, an IT specialist. Dixie had a wide range of passions, including a lifelong love affair with animals. She was the proud mama of several horses, an over-sized Doberman, and a lengthy dynasty of feisty, fetching Siamese cats. She had a quick wit and a wry sense of humor, and was a gourmet-level cook. A talented hobby artist in her own right, Dixie was an avid hunter-

collector of vintage Art Deco art and decor. She enjoyed horseback riding, scuba diving, gardening, traveling with her husband Gary, and simply being surrounded by nature. She served as a docent at the Tulsa Zoo as well as the Nature Conservancy Tall Grass Prairie Preserve.

Dixie and Gary lived and worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma until they retired in 2019. In 2024 they moved from Tulsa to Duncan, Oklahoma.

Dixie was preceded in death by her mother, Frances Ann Grant; her father, Charles John Grant; and one brother, Charles John Grant, Jr. She is survived by her husband, Gary Lee Collins, of Duncan; her brother William Samson Grant of Azle, Texas; her sister Valerie Ann Grant of Los Angeles, California; six nieces and two nephews.

Graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 at the Marlow Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please contribute to your local Alzheimer's support organization.