Mary Call Darby Collins was an American historic preservationist who was the first lady of Florida from 1955 to 1961 as the wife of Governor LeRoy Collins.
Mary Call Darby Collins (September 11, 1911 – November 29, 2009) was an American historic preservationist who was the first lady of Florida from 1955 to 1961 as the wife of Governor LeRoy Collins.
Early years
Mary Call was born in New York City, New York, the only child and daughter of Thomas Arthur Darby and Jane Kirkman Brevard. Brevard being the daughter of Theodore Washington Brevard Jr. and Mary Laura Call. Mary Laura Call was the daughter of Richard Keith Call, 3rd and 5th territorial governor of Florida and Mary Letitia Kirkman.
Mary Call was born in New York because her father had business interests there. However, concerned for her health in the harsh northern winters, Jane Darby and Mary moved to Tallahassee and the Brevard family home of her maternal grandmother, Mary Call Brevard, and her Aunt Caroline Mays Brevard on Monroe Street. Thomas Darby visited his wife and daughter often and planned to establish a home for them in Tallahassee when circumstances permitted him to leave New York.
When Mary Call was nine years old, her best friend and first cousin, Cora, died following a fall from a tree. In 1920 both Mary Call Brevard and Aunt Caroline died from the Spanish flu epidemic.
