In memory of Nicholas Collins, Lauren Langerveld lit a candle

We are so sorry for the loss of Nick. My fondest memory of Nick is when he was probably 12 or so and we were visiting my cousin Kathy, John, Nick, and Cara while they still lived in Montgomery. The kids (Nick, Cara, Amy and Brian) all played in the pool together and had a blast! Uncle Ted and Aunt Donna were there, too. Those were the days! We have seen wonderful photos through the years in Christmas cards and now see Nick's handsome photo posted here. What a wonderful young man he had grown to be and what a tragic loss that his life ended too soon! My heart goes out to all in our family! Blessings to you all at this difficult time. Marie and Dave Strauch

In memory of Nicholas Collins, Terry golding lit a candle

In memory of Nicholas Collins, Jennifer Laraon lit a candle

Our deepest condolences to you ash . Keep your heart strong and your will even stronger.

I am sorry for your loss.

Sending hugs and prayers for healing and comfort to Kathy, John, Cara, Nick’s wife and all of the extended family during these difficult times. May happy memories bring you peace.

In memory of Nicholas Collins, Deanna Hardy lit a candle

You'll forever be missed Nick

Prayers and love to the family ??

In memory of Nicholas Collins, Christine lit a candle

So sorry for your loss.my thoughts and prayers are with you.

My deepest condolences. May he Rest In Peace.

Some of my favorite memories with Nick were in Douglas Hall on D3/D4. We would do movie nights (you can see pics of them on Facebook) and him and Jeremy would always choose the most laughably terrible movies to watch, but it was fun making fun of the storylines and everything with the group. We also spent a lot of nights playing Sequence and "Slap" (me, Jordan, Jeremy, Dom, Eric, Leah, Omar, Alicia, Donny, Keith, Tyler, Tim, Matt, Merrick, and Nick) and Nick was always willing to stay up and keep playing if someone went to bed. The boys also played so many hours of Risk on those floors it was ridiculous. Lol. When him and Dom moved into their apartment on Russell junior year, our group's parties moved from Dakota's place on Fotis to their place on Russell for a little while. There was A LOT of Mario Party played in that apartment. I think it's also when they started saying, "Drinks?!" I honestly can't remember why it was so funny, but when I looked through old Facebook pictures yesterday and saw his "Drinks?" comments, I still laughed. We would all receive texts after classes and they always just said, "Drinks?" Lol. I also remember Nick, Dom, Paul, Jordan, and a few others always doing the "Go Bills!" thing. In true Nick fashion, his favorite thing was yelling "Go Bills!" at the most inappropriate times. Another thing about the Russell apartment (he lived with Dominick and Steven at first and then it was him, Dom, and Ryan Santrella), everyone was always invited. If anyone even so much as suggested that we not mention that we were hanging out to someone, Nick always jumped in and said, "no, we should invite him/her." Nick was one of the least confrontational people in college, but he was adamant about everyone being included. Also, a squirrel invaded that apartment through a vent and I still have the videos from it. In the videos, Nick is saying, "his name is Kenny. It's Kenny the Squirrel!!" Then it's just Nick, Dom, me, and Paul talking and laughing as Ryan S. swears at the squirrel and tries to get Kenny the Squirrel out of the apartment. We never forgot about Kenny the Squirrel. The ladder half of our college parties took place at 120 John (Kevin, Eric, Dakota, Jake, and Cameron's place) and, once again, if there was ever a question of bringing anyone that wasn't part of our gigantic group, Nick would always say, "just come.." When we went out in Chicago for Briana's birthday in 2014 or 2015, we walked by a bar called "Nick's" and he wanted to go in and see if he could show his license and get the entire group free drinks. I mean, I feel like only Nick would consider doing this. Lol. I'm pretty sure he was only half joking. Unfortunately the bar was closed, but I have a picture of him underneath the bar sign (I think he's tagged in it on Facebook). I don't want to take up his entire memory wall, but there are so many great college memories with Nick.. even the several all-nighters pulled and copious amount of Monster that we all drank in the basement computer lab in Douglas when we put off studying until last minute. Our huge friend group from NIU has broken apart over time because of people moving to different states, breakups, and drifting apart because that's life, but there's not one single person in our group who has ever said a bad thing about Nick. He was truly a great guy and an incredible friend, and we were all lucky to have known him and to have shared so many laughs with him.

Wishing your family peace and comfort in the midst of your sorrow.

Nick was a person I met through friends and I could tell he was a great one himself. Everytime I met him at a group gathering, he would talk to me like we were longtime friends. My favorite memory of him was when for Halloween 2014 he was The Green B*****d from Trailer Park Boys. My condolences to his family.

Nick was such an amazing and kind soul. I was able to nerd out with him in a way I couldn't with anyone else in college. One memory that stands out in particular was when there was a massive Sony e-mail leak that detailed a horrible sounding Spiderman movie they almost pursued where Peter Parker was really into EDM. Nick turned to me after we both read the outline and said in a completely deadpan voice "I love Untitled Spiderman Project. It's one of my favorites" and I just about cried laughing. He leaves behind a legacy of warm and comforting memories that I, and many others, will never forget. Rest in peace, friend.

My condolences to Nick’s loved ones. Nick was a very kind soul. I met him at NIU through mutual friends and we immediately nerded out over Pokémon. Rest in heaven friend

I love you Nick I always will.

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.