Beryl Robichaud Collins, who gained national recognition when Business Week magazine, in a June 1976 issue, included her as one of the "Top Corporate Women" in the United States, died on December 7, 2009 at Meadow Lakes in Hightstown, NJ. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1919, she lived most of her early life in Wisconsin. Beryl had been treated for Parkinson's disease for many years.

Beryl Collins combined in a unique way the worlds of corporate management and environmental research and concern.

After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1940 with honors in Economics, she joined IBM as a member of its newly-designed management training program for women. Its graduates, twenty-five women, were trained to assist customers in the installation of IBM equipment. After serving as a system service representative in Chicago for a year, Beryl was promoted to the position of IBM Secretary of Education with responsibility for designing staff and customer educational programs. Next, Beryl worked in Sperry Gyroscope as Contract Termination Systems Manager, responsible for developing the procedures needed to recover assets on contracts terminated at the end of World War II.

In 1946, Beryl Collins joined McGraw-Hill as its first systems consultant. As the company grew, she moved steadily forward to greater responsibilities. In 1971, when appointed Senior Vice-President, Corporate Management Information Services, she was the first woman officer of the Company. She was responsible for the planning and use of computers, systems and programming, and management information planning throughout the corporation. In 1979, after more than thirty years of service, Beryl took early retirement from McGraw-Hill to devote more time to public policy issues.

Parallel with her corporate activities, Beryl Collins pursued her deep interest in the natural environment. As a part-time student, she earned a Masters degree in biological sciences from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in ecology from Rutgers University, where she did research in the Institute for Environmental Studies. She was the senior author of two books on New Jersey's environmental conflicts; one on the state's landscape diversity, and the second on the Pinelands. Previously, she had authored two books on business data processing.

Beryl Collins received Honorary Degrees form both Cedar Crest College and Mount Holyoke College, from which she also received the Alumnae Medal of Honor.

Beryl was the first woman to serve on the board of directors of the Aetna Insurance Company and of G.D. Searle; she also served on the board of Fundamental Investors of the American Mutual Funds. Furthermore, she served on both the national and state boards of the Nature Conservancy, and the boards of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the New Jersey Audubon Society, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Rider College, and Mount Holyoke College.

Beryl Collins and her husband, Arthur B. Collins, lived in Princeton for twenty-five years. Arthur died in 1998, and Beryl became a resident of Meadow Lakes.

Close survivors include a cousin, Audrey Lexander of Stamford, Connecticut, a niece, Margaret Robichaud of Wisconsin, a nephew, Dennis Robichaud of Florida, 3 grandnieces and grandnephews, and their children, all living in Wisconsin. Also, 4 step-children: Patricia Kirchner and Barbara Collins of New Jersey, Kate Northrup of Massachusetts, and Robert Collins of New Hampshire, and their children.

A family memorial service is planned for the spring in Wisconsin.

Contributions in Beryl's memory can be made to either the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018 (online at: www.pdf.org) or a charity of the donor's choice.