Julie Ann Collingwood

Julie Collingwood passed away on July 5, 2021 after a battle against cancer. She was born July 15, 1955 in Powell, Wyoming to Carl and Evelyn (Gunderson) Clifton, the youngest of nine children. She grew up on the family farm on West Willwood and graduated from Powell High School in 1973.

Growing up the youngest, Julie was a tomboy, and took great care of the sheep herd her dad raised. She spent countless hours with her dad helping him farm and raise sheep, as well as knowing how to milk cows and having a border collie that was “her” dog. She continued to follow in her mother’s footsteps of cooking from scratch, hanging laundry outside and frugality.
Julie was employed in the bookkeeping and finance world, until she discovered her niche as an insurance adjuster in 1988, yet another tomboy occupation at the time. She lived and worked 26 years as a property/casualty adjuster throughout the state of Wyoming, also traveling to various other states working as a catastrophe adjuster for wind, hail and hurricane damage. After she moved back to the Big Horn Basin in 1991, she met and married Don B. Collingwood of Shell. They built a house near Shell and purchased acreage from his parents where they pursued the side career of a small cow/calf operation.
In 2008, she began her crop adjusting career, which suited her to a T. Though not a full-time career, it gave her the opportunity to spend most of her time in farm fields for the job and continue caring for the day-to-day chores of ranch life.
Carl passed away in January of 1981 and Evelyn in January of 1994. Her brother, Bud, succumbed to cancer in February of 2013; her brother, Dale, passed away in October 2019; her brother Duane passed away in December 2019; her niece, Nancy Marie Brundage, died in May of 1974; and her brother-in-law Bruce Given died in November 2019; brother-in-law Kent Taylor passed in March 2021. She is survived by her husband, Don, her son and daughter-in-law, Brandon and Randi Collingwood of Belfry, grandchildren Austin and Katelyn Collingwood and great grandson Axel Lee Collingwood.
Her surviving siblings include Norma Taylor of Tucson AZ, Susan (Jay) VandenBoom of Powell, Butch (Anna) Clifton of Powell, Nancy Newton of Fallon, NV, and Karen (Dennis) Kunkel of Sioux Falls, SD; and sister-in-law (Marcy) Clifton of Riverton, WY. She is also survived by 19 nieces and nephews and many more great-nieces and great-nephews, plus numerous great-grand nieces and great-grand nephews.
Burial will be Wednesday, July 14 at 1:00 PM, at Whaley Cemetery, located ¼ mile from Julie and Don’s place near Shell. In lieu of flowers, she would ask that you donate to one of the many charities that train service dogs, to a pet shelter of your choice to your favorite veteran’s charity or to the Whaley Cemetery.