Evelyn Frances Knopp (Tompkins) Collins, of San Antonio, age 84, passed away May 27, 2005. She was born October 1, 1920. Evelyn was born in Hondo, Texas, to Dr. Thomas Bryan and Dorothy Ellen (Metzger) Knopp. She was preceded in death by her parents; her grandmother, Chloe Shaw Metzger; her grandfather, Charles Metzger; and her two husbands, named below. Evelyn and her sister Margaret Ann spent their lives studying music, dancing, and expression. At age ten, Evelyn took piano lessons from Sister Amabilis, Dean of Music at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio. After graduating from Hondo High School, she went to Lindenwold College in Missouri, where she took piano lessons from John Thomas. There, she received her Bachelor's of Music degree. On December 6, 1941, she was married to her first husband, William F. Tompkins, Jr., who was killed in Germany in 1945, while serving at the rank of Major, commanding the 552nd Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Evelyn and William had two sons, William F. Tompkins, III, and Thomas K. Tompkins, both of Hondo. In June of 1948, Evelyn was married to her second husband, Charles C. Collins, who had served in the European Theater during WWII, and left the service as a Captain taking several awards, among them the Purple Heart with three clusters. Charles died on October 15, 2001. Evelyn was a member of three national music fraternities, and the Daughters of the American Republic (DAR). Evelyn was a direct descendant of Miles Standish, who arrived in America with Pilgrims on the Mayflower. She leaves behind two sons, six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and her sister. Evelyn's wish is to be cremated, and to have her ashes scattered to the winds over her ranch, on the hill overlooking the two lakes and the house, praying that this will help the wildflowers grow. Evelyn's wishes are that if you must bury something, let it be her faults, her weaknesses, and all prejudice against her fellow men and women. Give her sins to the Devil and her soul to Heaven. Should you wish to remember her, do it with kind deeds and/or words to those who might need it. If you do this, she will live forever.