Irene Collins, age 71, of Sevierville, TN, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

She attended Freedom Fellowship Baptist Church.

She was a dedicated employee of The Apple Barn.

She was preceded in death by her father Dennis Melton, mother Inellie Jones Melton, and sister Jeanette Melton Knight.

Left behind to cherish her memory are her husband of 54 years Harry Gene Collins; sons Mike Collins and his wife Jama, and Tony Collins; daughter Debbie Brackins and her husband Gary; brothers and their wives: Floyd and Carolyn Melton of Greeneville; Jackie and Sandy Melton of North Carolina; sisters-in-law and their husbands: Dorothy and Harold Reynolds of Tusculum and Judy and Ross Seaton of Afton; nine grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; special aunt Helen Ricker; and many special friends, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Special thanks to her coworkers at The Apple Barn and her doctors and nurses at Fort Sanders Medical Center.

Memorial donations may be made to benefit the family, c/o Atchley Funeral Home, 118 East Main Street, Sevierville, TN 37862.

Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, November 7, 2009, in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home with the Rev. Curtis Webb and the Rev. Jimmy Boling officiating.

Family and friends will meet at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 8, 2009, in Shiloh Cemetery for graveside services and interment with the Rev. Bill Maples officiating.

Pallbearers will be her grandchildren: Jason Brackins, Mark Brackins, Travis Collins, Chad Huskey, Mack Ellis, and Mitchell Hodges.

The family will receive friends from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, November 7, 2009, at Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville. (www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)