Tributes

John Henry Collier, 69, of Myrtle Beach, SC passed away suddenly, early in the morning on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Born September 2, 1953 in Alexandria, VA, he was the son of the late James Henry Collier and Mary Hough. John began his law enforcement career in Prince William County, VA in 1975 and rose through the ranks from County Police Officer to retiring as Chief Deputy Sheriff in 2012, a position he held for 8 years. During his career, John worked on several important concepts to advance the quality of law enforcement in America, including Critical Incident Stress Management for public safety officers, the AMBER Alert system, School Violence response (now known as Active Shooter Response), Hostage Negotiation, and vast committee work on the sex offender registry law that became known as Megan’s Law. John was also an adjunct faculty member for National Louis University and George Mason University. John received his Doctor of Business Administration in 2005 from Ashwood University (Magna Cum Laude). After retirement, John and his wife, Brenda, moved to Myrtle Beach, SC where he became a licensed Realtor in early 2013, a South Carolina Broker in 2018, a certified Real Estate Instructor in 2019, and the Chief of Operations of Pinnacle Real Estate Academy in 2021. John was very accomplished in his career, but he also was a loving father, husband, mentor, and friend. He had a great sense of humor, and was adored and admired by so many. Some of the favorite things including golfing, grilling, smoking on his smoker. Over the last several years, he loved spending each night in his "garage mancave" with his four stray cats, which he named with his humor that only John could name: Foot, Foot Foot, Foot Foot Foot and Squeaky. LOL, John. The cats would hear his truck pulling in and would come running to greet him and to get belly loving. They will truly miss their Daddy so much. John is survived by his wife Brenda and his three children: his son Jason Whitney and Jason's wife, Teresa, and their child, Mason, of Helena, MT; his daughter Julie Fritter and her husband, Brian, along with their children Joshua, Christian, and Ashlyn of Myrtle Beach, SC; his son Johnathan Collier and his wife, Samantha, and their children Dylan and Ellie of Fredericksburg, VA; Jennifer Nicely, whom he considered his daughter, his sister Janice Hart of Myrtle Beach, SC; his brother Mike Collier of Farmerville, LA; and a host of dear family and friends. A ceremony will be held in his honor on March 16, 2023 at Goldfinch Funeral Home, Beach Chapel, 11528 Frontage Road Murrells Inlet, SC 29576. Visiting hours will be from 3 PM -4 PM, with the Celebration of Life from 4 PM -5 PM. An additional Celebration of Life will be held in Manassas, Virginia within the next month; details will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to your favorite organization or charity in John's name. To watch John's funeral, follow the livestream link: https://vimeo.com/event/3171462

Tributes

John Henry Collier

September 2, 1953 - March 9, 2023