STATESVILLE, NC – Christopher McLauchlin Collier passed away on February 8, 2012 after a brief illness. Chris, son of Judge and Mrs. Robert A. Collier, Jr., was born in Statesville, North Carolina on April 5, 1963.

Chris attended The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, graduating in 1981 where he received the John Roy Baylor Award among other honors. Chris graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity serving as president his senior year. He then attended Wake Forest University School of Law and was awarded a Juris Doctor in 1989.

A member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Chris joined the Statesville law firm of Pope, McMillan, Gourley and Kutteh where he practiced law from 1989-93. He became a Prosecutor in the 22^nd Judicial District, serving from 1993 – 2001. Governor Mike Easley appointed Chris as a Superior Court Judge in December 2001, he was elected in 2002 and again in 2010 where he was currently serving as Senior Resident Superior Court Judge.

He served as a board member of The Boys and Girls Club of the Piedmont. Chris was a member of the St. Andrews Society of North Carolina and member of Broad Street United Methodist Church. Chris had many circles of friends. Chris enjoyed boating and fishing and spent as much time as he could in Wrightsville Beach. He also earned his private pilot’s license.

In addition to his parents, his family includes brothers, Robert Alvis Collier, III (Robb), James Buford Collier (Burr); sisters, Paige Collier Wiseman, and husband Frank, Anne Randall Collier Hollifield, and husband Kevin, Elizabeth Stone Collier Pendleton, and husband Sterling; uncle and aunt Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Scruggs (Tom and Sissy) and cousins from Dallas, Texas; nieces and nephews, Robert Alvis Collier, IV (Rock), Bristol Marie Collier, William McLauchlin Wiseman (Will), Robert Collier Wiseman, Randall Downing Wiseman, Lauren Jennifer Hollifield, Mary Kate Hollifield, Abigal Ross Hollifield (Abby), Lauchlin Cabot Pendleton (Lauch), and Stone Montgomery Pendleton. Grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Collier, Sr. and the late Mr. and Mrs. Buford A. Stone. Chris was godfather to Kate Elizabeth Riemann, Michael Allen Riemann, Ellison Capers Johnson and Robert Donald Walters.

A memorial service for Chris will be held at 2:30 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Broad Street United Methodist Church, 315 West Broad Street, Statesville, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to The Boys and Girls Club of the Piedmont, 1001 Cochran Street, Statesville, NC 28677; Friends of the Animals, PO Box 3937, Mooresville, NC 28117; Gordon Hospice House, 2347 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625 or to the charity of the donors’ choice.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.nicholsonfunerals.com

Nicholson Funeral Home is serving the Collier Family. 

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