Carol (Smedley) Atkins

Carol Smedley Atkins, age 88, peacefully entered eternal life on April 11, 2021 at Charlotte Health & Rehabilitation Center.  She was a native of Shaker Heights Ohio and was the daughter of the late Lorena Barz Smedley and Elmore Huston Smedley.  She was a graduate of Duke University .  In 1953, she married James H. Atkins and after two years in Texas, moved to Charlotte, NC where they lived for 2 years.  In 1960, they moved to Gastonia where her husband published the Gastonia Gazette and later opened his own law practice.   She was a scout leader and a Sunday school teacher.  She served as president of the Hospital Auxiliary and was advisor in charge of the Junior Hospital Auxiliary for several years.  She was a member of the Gastonia Junior League and the Gastonia Debutante Club.  After years of community service, Carol taught for thirty years as a kindergarten teacher at Gaston Day School.  After her retirement in 2000 she returned to the school serving in several different capacities for five more years.  She was a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC and actively ministered with her husband in the church and community.  Her commitment and devotion were to her lord Jesus Christ, her family and those whom god brought into her life.  "Oh, magnify the lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."  In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband James H. Atkins.  Those left to cherish her memory include her son James Harrison Atkins of Gastonia, daughter Laura Atkins Reinemann of Kennewick Washington, and grandchildren Abigail, Andrew, Matthew, Timothy Reinemann, and Rachel Atchley. All services will be private.

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