Rev. Will Collier

Rev. Will Collier,69, transitioned to his reward on Friday, May 28, 2021, passingaway peacefully at home in his sleep. He was preceded in death by his parents, EthelBurke & Daniel Collier, grandparents, Betty and Roosevelt Briggs, Sr.Will was born in Helena, Arkansas where he attended West Side Elementary andEliza Miller High School. Will loved going to church, singing gospel music andeverything associated with church activities early in his life. He confessed to Christ atan early age. While in Junior High and High School, Will started performing in thetalent shows put on by the school. After high school , in 1970, Will attended theUniversity of Pine Bluff, Arkansas for a short time. It was his decision at that point toenlist in the military. He decided to join the U.S. Navy and later received his HonorableDischarge in 1972. After his time in the Navy, with no formal musical training, Will tookhis God-given talent and began playing the piano or the organ for various churchesthroughout the Helena Arkansas area. He served as the musician for King SolomonMissionary Baptist Church & Galilee Missionary Baptist Church of Helena, Arkansas.The Late Rev, Purcell Perkins pastored both churches.Before moving to Toledo, Will sang with several gospel groups in the Arkansasarea which included The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, The Spiritual Harmonizers andThe Original Sunset Travelers. Will traveled across the country with each group to singGods’ praises, spreading the word of God, not only through singing, but also throughpreaching.The ObituaryWhile spreading the word as a licensed minister, Will achieved the ultimate goalthat God had planned for him. He went through the Ordination process, and becamean Ordained Minister on October 13, 1981 at the New Light Baptist Church in Helena,Arkansas.In 1983, Will decided to move to Toledo and quickly began singing and playingthe piano for his Aunt, the late Ella Pickett, who passed away in October 2018. He alsojoined the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church under Pastor Otis W. Jones, where Ella,Deacon Pickett and all the family were members at the time. Later, he joined the St.Mark Missionary Baptist Church under Pastor I.J. Johnson. In between preaching andsinging, Will found time to meet the love of his life, Vara Colquitt, on January 15,1986 ata Martin Luther King Memorial Service held at Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church. Itwas love at first sight for both. After proposing marriage on December 25,1986, theywere married on August 17, 1987. This marriage lasted 33 years, just 3 months shy oftheir 34thwedding anniversary. Will was employed with the Universal SecurityCompany as a security officer for 13 years. Health issues forced Will onto Disability inthe year 2000. Not letting that deter him, he continued to spread Gods’ word throughpreaching and singing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Getting an opportunity to work with the Scott High School Marching Band,under the direction of Ed & Avie Dixon, made a lasting impression on Wills’ life. Formore than 20 years, Will worked with the students on things such as music,instrument preparation and marching band techniques. His inspiration reached allthe students, teachers and staff. Seeing issues with the Toledo public school systemthat needed addressing, Will became a regular speaker at the school board meetings,The Obituaryoffering his input that led to various ideas that the school board took intoconsideration.Will's performances, traveling with Ella, and now his wife Vara, had taken him tovarious cities for guest appearances and concert performances. His performancesincluded not only churches, but festivals, banquets, community colleges anduniversities, and numerous television appearances on "Toledo Sings Gospel" that airedon WTVG Channel 13 between 1990 and 2001.He was especially blessed to have had two appearances on Bobby Jones Gospel,in Nashville, TN. His singing career had allowed him to produce three gospelrecordings. The first was “Traveling with the Original Sunset Travelers” on the GospelRoots Label. The next two were on the Shur-fine Gospel Record Label entitled "HowSweet the Sound" with his Aunt Ella Pickett and "A Still Small Voice" with the group,Ella Pickett and the Gospel Ensemble. Many of the songs on the last recording werewritten by his cousins, Leroy and Regina Pickett.Will was widely known for his Gospel performances during the "GospelExplosions" at "Portside Toledo' ' during the 1990's. He was also invited to perform atseveral political rallies for Mayoral candidates Donna Owens, Jack Ford and Carleton"Carty" S. Finkbeiner.Some of the events that Will shared his gospel talent included● Singing at Convalescent nursing homes● Feed the Children Event at Belle Isle in Detroit MI● Black Swamp Arts Festival in Bowling Green and Fremont OH● A member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 15-286The Obituary● A member of the National Quartet Singing Convention of America Ind. Inc.● A member of the Toledo Singing Quartet Chapter 70-1● A long time member of the Gospel Tones of Toledo, Ohio● Several Old Ship of Zion Programs● Performed at Nash Park for Jean Overton● Performed at all the Gospel Explosions at Promenade Park● New Years Eve First Night Toledo at St. Paul Episcopal● Performed at the Cherry Street Mission in Downtown Toledo● Performed at Scott High School for the NAACP, "A Mind is A Terrible Thing toWaste" Fundraiser Rally● He performed at the "Swing into Spring" Events at the Holiday French Quarterin Perrysburg OH● He was chosen to sing at many weddings, birthday parties & homegoings● He performed at the Tent City Events on the grounds of the Courthousetouching the lives of many prisoners incarcerated at the Lucas County Jail● He wrote and performed a song entitled “I Don’t Wanna Get Shot” meant toaddress the youth violence raging in the city of Toledo● His God-given musical talent allowed him to not only play piano and organ,also the guitar, drums, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba and xylophone● Made a cameo appearance on America’s Got Talent which aired June 7, 2016While in Toledo, Will served as the musician for First Baptist Missionary Church,Fremont OH (Pastor William Holmes), Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church(PastorJ.L. Spears), Northwestern Missionary Baptist Church(Pastor Willie L. Knighten) andlast served as a musician at Charity Missionary Baptist Church(Pastor Bobby Welborn).Will's desire to reach the masses went beyond the church walls. He said “If I can’tconvince the young people to come to the church, then I’ll go to where they are” andthat is exactly what he did. His effort to reach young people was thought to be highlyunusual, but he knew his mission was to save souls wherever they may be. Whereveryou encountered Will, you could count on one thing, that the word of God was beingspread.The ObituaryWill cherished the many awards and presentations during his Gospel singingcareer. The one that stood out for him was in 2007, when he became a recipient of theGlass City Music Awards, Longevity Award. This was an event, much like the GospelStellar Music Awards, that honored many of the Gospel Artists in and around theToledo area.Will always had an unusual way of preparing his audience before he started toperform, whether it was walking down the middle aisle while sporting a cape or a pairof outlandish sunglasses or kicking up his leg and “lightly” tapping the end of thepiano or keyboard with the heel of his foot. It was said that some pastors claimed theywere never inviting Will Collier back again because “He broke my piano”. All in all, afterall of the antics, Will was doing nothing more than getting your attention before hefinally settled down at the keyboard and used the gift that God gave him, being gratefulfor the opportunities to sing God’s praises and lift his name.Will was a person that loved his family. Even though Vara and Will had nochildren, Will, along with his wife, did not hesitate to help the family in every possibleway. He was always so happy to give and thought nothing of it. One of his greatestpleasures was getting on the road, heading south, stopping in Nashville to visit hiscousins, then continuing on to Memphis to visit his brothers, sister-in-law, aunts,uncles, nieces and cousins, and from there, on to visit his hometown of Helena,Arkansas.The ObituaryRev. Collier leaves to cherish his memories his loving wife of 33 years VaraCollier, 2 brothers; Marvin Johnson of Memphis, Tennessee and Robert (Magnolia)Johnson of Memphis, Tennessee; aunts Shirley Oliver of Toledo, Ohio, Betty (Robert)Kincade of Fontana California; uncles Roy Briggs of Los Angeles, California, Willie(Gloria) Briggs of Atlanta, Georgia; nieces Vena Hill of Columbus, Ohio, DeborahJohnson of Memphis, Tennessee, Sharita (Roderick) Cook of Olive Branch, Mississippi,Kimberly Johnson of Memphis, Tennessee, Jaleesa (Derrick) King of Memphis,Tennessee and a host of loving cousins, relatives and friends. Toledo, Ohio

May 28, 2021

Share Obituary:

Rev. Will Collier

Share a memory Plant a tree

Funeral Home Owner

November 23, 2022

Rev. Will Collier

Share a memory

Tribute wall

Plant a tree in memory of Rev. Will