Carlyn Loyl Collins

Carlyn Collins passed away in Annapolis, Maryland, on the evening of August 6, 2026. She had turned 90 years old on May 31. Carlyn was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and spent her childhood in the nearby town of Brookwood with her parents, Carl and Loyl Collins, and her brother Glenn Collins. Carlyn's maternal grandparents, G.G. and Bertie Hardin, lived next door throughout her childhood. She always maintained strong ties to her family and to her roots in Alabama, not the least being a lifelong devotion to University of Alabama football. After graduating from high school, she received a BA from Alabama in 1956. An accomplished pianist, she began college as a music major before a biology class sparked an interest in life sciences. She earned an MD degree from the University of Alabama’s Medical School in 1960. It was there that she met her first husband, Dr. Ernest Tucker III. Their son, Ernest Tucker IV (Ernie), was born in 1961. Carlyn was among the first medical graduates accepted to work in the newly-formed Laboratory of Genetics at Birmingham’s UAB hospital, one of the first medical genetics programs in the Southeast. She pursued and completed a residency in clinical pathology. In 1967, she moved with her family to San Diego, California. For the next decade, she served as a practicing clinical pathologist at Mercy Hospital, providing direct patient care through laboratory medicine. Her life path shifted with her second marriage to Lee Hart in 1980 and her pursuit of a master's degree in public health at UCLA. This led to a second career in international public health. She worked extensively with public health non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including an extended assignment living and working as a medical advisor in India. Dr. Collins became widely recognized as an international expert in public health and laboratory quality. Her career culminated with her appointment in 1990 as Director of Laboratory Systems at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. She took on a wide variety of assignments at CDC, including extensive assistance on the front lines of HIV disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment in Tanzania, Botswana, and elsewhere. In 1991, she published the first Guidelines for HIV Safety and Laboratory Training. She was also appointed a Congressional advisor for the pivotal HIPAA and HCFA/CMS health care reform initiatives carried out in the late 1990s. Carlyn retired from the CDC in the early 2000s. She continued to consult on a regular basis for a number of years with medical assignments in places as diverse as Nepal, Haiti, and China. Most recently, she consulted with healthcare workers in South Africa battling emerging public health challenges including COVID-19. She leaves a global legacy through her work, her many publications, her impact on the people she trained, and on the health of millions of people worldwide. Upon retirement, Carlyn and Lee returned to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a place they had loved since first visiting many years earlier. She had numerous hobbies and interests, foremost of which were travel, fine cooking, and music, especially opera. Carlyn took great pleasure in reading widely and staying current about events in the world. She and her husband Lee made many wonderful trips across the US and the globe, visiting old friends and making new ones along the way. Carlyn was beloved by family and friends. Memories of her will shine brightly for all those who knew and loved her, particularly her brother, Glenn Collins (Coaling, AL), her grandchildren, Claire Tucker (Hudson, MA) and Carl Tucker (Arvada, CO), as well as her daughter-in-law, Sarah Hyde, and son, Ernie Tucker (Annapolis, MD).

Carlyn Loyl Collins

May 31, 1936 - August 6, 2026