Frances E. (Melanson) (Powers) Collins of Beverly died peacefully at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers on October 14, 2026 after a period of declining health. She was 89.
She was born in Salem, the daughter of William and Stella (Falkowski) Melanson, and graduated from St. James School and Salem Teachers College. She taught elementary school, most recently at St. Mel’s Day School in Gloucester, and was an active member and choir singer at St. John the Evangelist Church in Beverly. With her husband Tom she traveled through Eastern Europe, including Poland, Ukraine and Russia, and took several cruises. Both of her husbands, Thomas Powers and Thomas Collins, died before her.
She leaves her granddaughters, Rachael O’Donnell and Alaina O’Donnell, both of Peabody; her sister, Catherine Spring of St. Petersburg, Fla.; and nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Her daughters Kathleen Harrison and Christine O’Donnell, her brothers Donald and Robert Melanson and her sister Paula Gass died before her.
Visiting hours are Thursday, October 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot Street, Beverly, followed by a 2 p.m. funeral Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church, 111 New Balch Street, Beverly. Burial is private. The family suggests donations to the church or to the Kaplan Family Hospice House through Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers.
Compiled from information published by Campbell Funeral Home. Photograph courtesy of the family via Campbell Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
