Joan Atkins

Joan Hodges Atkins (January 6, 1935 – December 5, 2024)

Beloved wife of the late Siegel Atkins, revered mother of Phillip and Glenn Atkins, and role model for twelve siblings, Joan Hodges Atkins joined the heavenly chorus on December 5, 2024.

Her husband Siegel (S.O.) was a US Navy veteran and a firefighter in Jacksonville. Together, they positively impacted the lives of countless people through their service to the church, the community, and their family and friends. Joan taught Sunday School and sang in the choir in several Baptist churches. From his craftmanship in working with wood, Siegel built the offering table and lectern for worship at Heckscher Drive Baptist Church and fashioned beautiful gifts out of wood for family and friends.

Joan Atkins graduated from Andrew Jackson High School and earned a B.A. in Education from Stetson University and an M.A. in Reading from Jacksonville University.

Teacher and writer extraordinaire, Joan Atkins graciously served the children of Jacksonville, Florida, teaching them academic and life skills for over forty years. Often assigned the lowest-performing students, within one school year those students had transformed to the highest-performing students in their grade level.

She had practice early on with her siblings, teaching them to read, write, add, and subtract before they started school. Once, when all the paper had been used and her mother had forbidden her to remove the labels from canned goods, she led the younger children out to the yard, where she swept away the leaves and used a stick to mark off areas on the ground for them to write. She exclaimed in her indomitable spirit as she passed out sticks to her class, “Jesus wrote in the sand, and so can we!” She took the text to be copied from the Bible: “He who is without sin, cast the first stone,” a lesson in humility intensified by engraving it into the dirt.

Resourceful, generous, and kind, Joan Atkins also maintained high standards for her siblings, students, children, grandchildren, and principally for herself. A recognized leader, she wrote and delivered devotionals at churches, with at least one being published. In the Southern tradition, she also prepared meals for others undergoing significant life events and for gatherings at church and with family and friends, where she loved singing hymns. She was a compassionate mentor for many, lending her skills, training, and influence to address their issues and a faithful friend to so many, who in turn added depth and breadth to her life. Always sensitive to those in need, Joan participated in mission trips to other countries, including Haiti and Trinidad. At an early age, she learned Spanish and ministered to Mexican children on the borders of Texas, joying in singing Christmas carols in Spanish.

Although Joan Hodges Atkins’ death leaves a big hole in our hearts, we celebrate her extraordinary life with joy and peace and thanksgiving for being the embodiment of Christ for us.

Joan Atkins is survived by her children, Phillip Bradley Atkins (Kerry McCulley Atkins) and Glenn Avery Atkins (Honey Kingery Atkins); grandchildren Greg Atkins, Sarah Atkins, Madison Avery Atkins, Andrew Atkins; brothers Lester Lee Hodges, Jr., Leslie Ray Hodges, and James Warren Hodges (Elaine); sisters Doris Ruth Hodges Hartley (William), Mary Catherine Woods, Reba Lorraine Harrison, Margaret Eskew, Betty Lucille Robertson (Gene), Dorothea June Kent, Lois Fay Pifer (Durward), Julie Arlene Slate (Kenneth);sister-in-law Pat Engstrom; nieces and nephews Suzanne Haspel Campbell, Richard Haspel, Jeff Haspel, Kim Haspel Meadows, Vicki Smid, Terry Thompson, Brian Thompson, Todd Thompson, Kevin Mattox, Lori Gasson, Scott Atkins, Beth Jones, Toni Munsey, Patti Medenwald, Peggy Munsey, Mike Munsey, Bob Munsey, John Thomas Hodges, Jr., David Hodges, Lorraine Hodges, Margaret “Maggie” Hodges, Wendy Hodges, Lorraine Hodges Kratz, Roger Hodges, Laurie Hartley Vines, David Scott Hartley, Jeannie Hartley Bufkin, Stephen Hartley, Kathleen Stevens, Janet Harrison Davis, Timothy Eskew, Judith Eskew Thorne, Heather Arnold Spears, Sherry Dale Tibbets, Sheila Dale Bratton, Steven Dale, Katie Pifer Sakai, Kristy Pifer LaGue, James Warren Hodges, Jr., Alisa Hodges Mire, Elena Hodges, Sarah Hodges, Scott Slate, Aleasha Slate Huested, Jenna Slate Federau.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Siegel Oather Atkins, Jr.; her daughter-in-law Lynette Atkins (Phil); her parents Lester Lee Hodges, Sr. and Margaret Pauline Geer Hodges; brothers Kelly Jean Hodges and John Thomas Hodges (Carmen); brothers-in-law Gary Atkins, Bart Woods (Catherine), Kenneth Harrison (Reba), Harry Eskew (Margaret), Ernest Arnold (Betty), Bill Kent (Dorothea); sisters-in-law Mary Lou Haspel (Johnny), Donna Atkins Thompson (Terry), Annalee Atkins Mattox (Willie), Ethel Hodges (Lester Hodges, Jr.), Dottie Hodges (Leslie); nephews Richard Erden, Kenneth Harrison, Mark Mattox; nieces Tabetha Harrison Morales, Jeri Munsey.

Funeral Service will be 11 AM Thursday December 12, 2024 in Evergreen Chapel 4535 Main St Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-3649. Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. A visitation will be held in the chapel for one hour prior to the service.