Dennis Gawtry Collins, 79, died unexpectedly on March 15, 2014. Born April 3, 1934, in New York City, he was raised in Millbrook, N.Y., where he attended Millbrook School, followed by Cornell University.

A lifelong outdoorsman, birder and conservationist, Collins helped organize the Norfolk Land Trust in his home basement. Following a career in insurance, he left Norfolk to become director of land preservation for the Wildlands Conservancy in Pennsylvania. After retirement he returned to build a house, appropriately across the street from Dennis Hill State Park, where he lived happily with Pam, his beloved wife of 58 years.

In addition to continued service on advisory boards for local and national land trust and conservation organizations, Collins continued his lifelong interests in nature, science, wordplay, automobiles and all things Scottish. His recent birding trips spanned from Cape Cod to the Scottish moors to the Okavangao Delta in Botswana.

He is survived by his children, Keith Collins of Barkhamsted, Laura Gittleman of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Blair Collins of Oakland, Calif., and by four grandchildren.