Mrs. Ann Speed Atkins, age 84, died Sunday, September 21, 2014 at her home in Columbus. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Funeral Home. Friends are invited to visit with the family Tuesday evening, September 23, 2014 from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM at the Atkins home. Services will be Wednesday, September 23, 2014 at 11:00 AM at Tabernacle United Methodist Church with Rev. John Brownlee officiating, assisted by Rev. Jimmy Gibson. Visitation will also be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in Tabernacle Cemetery. The daughter of the late John Luke and Nolie Ann Porter Speed, Mrs. Atkins was born February 15, 1930 in Pickens County, AL. Many years ago, Mrs. Atkins operated a Daycare center in her home for pre-school age children. She was very proud of her flower garden and yard and spent many hours working to keep the garden and yard beautiful. She also enjoyed quilting and made quilts for all of her children and her grandchildren. She wrote the melodies for songs that she and her sister Louise composed. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by two sisters Esther Brownlee and Louise Cole, three brothers Robert Speed, Sr., A.J. Speed and Porter Speed and her husband Lewis D. Atkins, who died December 15, 2013. Mrs. Atkins is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Mike and Debra Atkins, daughters and sons-in-law Patricia Lane Atkins Mathis and Stan, Polly Atkins Ashcraft Beard, all of Columbus, MS and Cynthia Ann Atkins Poole and Jim of Cocoa, FL. She is also survived by two brothers Bryan Speed (Jane) of AR and Jack Ellis Speed (Paula), of Becker, MS, and one sister Gladys Cline Leighton (Arthur) of Columbus. In addition, she is also survived by eleven Grandchildren, twenty three Great- Grandchildren, eight Great-Great Grandchildren and twenty spouses of the Grand and Great Grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Todd Poole, Max Atkins, Kevin Blizard, Billy Ashcraft, Jermaine Burnett, Alex Burnett, Cory Harrison, Dereck Richardson, Allen Betts, Brad Putnam, Michael Rushing and Curtis DeSmidt.
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