Marjorie Lee Atkins

Marjorie Lee Atkins, died on October 31, 2026, at the age of 101. She was born on July 14, 1925, the daughter of Harold H. and Louise E. (Reed) Van Horn.

Marjorie’s life was marked by devotion to family, faith, learning, and service. She spent her early years in Franklin County, Kansas, where she lived from 1925 until 1946. She graduated from Pomona high school, attended Emporia State Teachers College and received a war time emergency teaching certificate, preparing her for a career in education that would become an important part of her life. On October 5, 1946, she married Jack U. Atkins in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Together they shared almost fifty years of marriage until his death on April 28, 1996.

Teaching was one of Marjorie’s lasting callings. She taught for twelve years, including three years in Franklin County, Kansas, and nine years in a Tulsa private school. In addition to her work in education, she also did office work for a graphic artist for fifteen years and later became the owner of a gift shop, The Tulsa Card Company, that she owned and operated for more than ten years. Through each chapter of her working life, she brought energy, creativity, and dedication.

Her interests and service reached well beyond her professional life. Marjorie enjoyed ceramics and a wide variety of other crafts, sharing her talents by teaching at churches and organizations. She served as a volunteer Cub Scout leader for six years and was also a choir mother at church, giving her time generously to young people and to her faith community. She traveled with the Topeka Civic NuComers Club and was a member of the New Beginnings Choir in Topeka, activities that reflected both her love of fellowship and her active spirit.

Faith remained a steady presence throughout her life. From birth until age 21, she attended Greenwood Baptist Church near Pomona, Kansas. During her fifty years in Tulsa, from 1946 to 1995, she attended Boston Avenue Methodist Church. After moving to Topeka in 1995, she attended Countryside United Methodist Church from 1996 to the present. Her church life was woven into the many places she called home and into the many ways she served others.

Marjorie always told everyone that her goal was to live to be 100, which she achieved on July 14, 2025. In honor of her achieving that goal, a birthday party and Celebration of Her Extraordinary Life was hosted in her honor at Aldersgate Village in Topeka. She always said that she wanted to achieve that goal because her mother, Louise had lived to be 100.

Marjorie is survived by her sons, John Atkins and his wife Sandra of Castle Rock, Colorado, and Bruce Atkins and his wife Leonor of Port Saint Lucie, Florida; her grandson, Christopher Atkins, his wife Chau and their daughter Alyssa (Marjorie’s great granddaughter) of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack U. Atkins; her parents, Harold H. and Louise E. (Reed) Van Horn; her sister, Dorothy Ingle and her brother, Dr. H.H. “Jack” Van Horn.

Marjorie will be remembered for a long life filled with commitment to her family, her church, her students, and her community. Her creativity, service, and steady faith left a lasting impression on those who knew and loved her.

Memorial contributions may be made to Aldersgate Village Good Samaritan Fund, 7220 SW Asbury Dr., Topeka, Kansas 66614.

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