ROCKLAND, Maine — Samuel W. Collins Jr., who served in top positions within both the state Legislature and judiciary, died Thursday morning at his home.
Collins, 88, had served as both Senate Majority Leader in the Maine Legislature and as a justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
“Sam was an extraordinary attorney,” said Rockland attorney Stephen Hanscom who was a colleague of Collins. “He was very caring about all his clients. He was also a wonderful teacher to us younger lawyers.”
Hanscom joined the Rockland law firm of Crandall, Hanscom & Collins in 1974 and took over many of Collins’ clients when Collins was elected to the state senate to represent most of Knox County. He said Collins was a mentor to attorneys such as himself, Willard “Skip” Pease and Wayne Crandall.
Collins’ son Edward later joined the firm.
Samuel Collins served five terms in the state senate, being elected as Republican majority leader for the 1981-82 session and minority leader for 83-84.
He was appointed in 1988 to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. In 1994, he retired but was appointed to an active retired status with the court, a position he was reappointed to as late as 2009.
Collins was a native of Caribou. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono and Harvard School of Law. He came to Rockland and practiced law for 40 years in the city.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, issued a statement Thursday about her uncle.
“My uncle, Sam Collins, made an enormous contribution to the state he loved — as a state senator, as a Supreme Court Justice, and as a leader in his community. He was a person of such integrity and intelligence that people naturally turned to him for advice and leadership. My heart goes out to his wife Dottie, their children Elizabeth, Ed and Diane, and to my father who will dearly miss his brother.”
Maine Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley also issued a statement Thursday about Samuel Collins.
“Sam Collins was the quintessential gentleman. As an attorney, a legislator, and a judge he inspired respect for his own work and respect for the law,” she said in the statement. “He was kind, supportive, and very smart, and he expected and inspired thoughtful and thorough work in everyone around him. … He will be greatly missed by his friends on the Maine Bench and throughout the legal community.”
Seems funny that politics run in families .When are we going to start electing people based on qualifications not who is most popular.
It doesn’t seem funny,or odd at all. If you take a good look around, you’ll notice that career interests are inspired by family. It use to be that whatever the father did for work, the sons would be trained to do the same. How many teachers have other teachers in the family. The same is true for nearly every profession, politics is no exception.
Look at DR. Webb super of bangor schools her father was a college proffessor and mother a principal I in no way feel she is the most qualified for the JOB . Bangor might have the high test scores and high rates of kids going to college , but it also has a higher than average dropout rate when compared to other places in the same income brackets . Reduce the dropout rate and the test score will drop the % going to college will also drop. Just a fact. What is more important to you . To be it would be reduce crime and get people off welfare.Not just to make yourself look better.
Well, now you have changed the topic. I am pointing out to you that there is nothing ” funny” about families sharing career interests. I said nothing about whether the son of a doctor makes a great doctor, or daughter of a teacher a great teacher. I was merely pointing out the fact of the matter. It is unlear how or why you made a 180 in the subject!! But, it doesn’t really matter!
well the second part of my first responce was when are we going to elect people based on qualifications Not on who is most popular. If you feel i changed the subject I am Ok with that.
Sam Collins was a gentleman and a gentle man who drew respect across the political aisle. He was conscious of his responsibility first to the people who elected him, second to the citizens of Maine and third to a human decency that assured all people be represented in both the legislative process and our judicial system. Sam Collins was a Republican who sought solutions to issues a changing Maine faced. He used his conservative upbringing as a compass, not as an end, but a starting point. Of the ten years I served with Sam the Maine State Senate, eight of them I served in the minority, two years I was Majority Leader and Sam was the Minority Leader. We never had a cross word with each other, we worked out agreements where we could, and we respectfully agreed to disagree when we couldn’t and we moved on to the next issue, and we remained friends through the process. Sam Collins passing is a loss not only to his friends and family – – it is a loss to the State of Maine.