Garland Middle School Counselor Lana Wells Collier Dies at 74

Lana Wells Collier was an only child and a tomboy who grew up on a ranch near Granbury. The closest bus stop was 10 miles from home, so she started driving herself to school when she was just 14 years old.It was when Collier joined Kappa Alpha Theta at TCU that she first made permanent, lasting bonds, her close friend Joy Faye Adam said. And from that point on, relationships became an integral part of her life.Collier, who spent 24 years as a middle school counselor in Garland, died July 15 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 74.“She really just wanted to pass down her words of wisdom,” Adam said. “She had so much love to give, and she could look right through the kids to figure out just the right way to motivate them.”The early influences of her life on the ranch stuck with her, said her husband, Benjamin Raye Collier. She grew up riding horses and going on roundups with cowboys, and she also had a love of Texas A&M football.After graduating from TCU with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Collier started teaching second grade in Bryan while earning a master’s degree at A&M. Her father, Clyde H. Wells, was a member of the board of regents at A&M, and a dorm at the school is named for him.   Continue reading...