Grace Shaeffer Atkins, in her 100th year, died peacefully surrounded by her loving family at her home in Chelsea, Michigan on April 29, 2014. She was born at her family home on the banks on the Manatee River in Ellenton, Florida on October 3, 1914.
Her parents, Charlie and Hattie Shaeffer, were pioneers in that region. Her father discovered and managed a fullers earth clay mine, then used in the refinement of gasoline. Gracie, as her family called her, was the youngest of five siblings: Lenore, Elizabeth, Francis, and Charlie. The family later moved to Bainbridge, Georgia where she completed high school and then earned a degree in studio art from Huntington College in Montgomery, Alabama.
On November 15, 1941 she married Lieutenant Daniel Ewell Atkins, Jr. in Milledgeville, Georgia. Within the year Ewell was called to active duty in WW II in the South Pacific for almost four years. Shortly after he left, their first son Daniel Ewell Atkins, III was born. While waiting for her husband’s return she was a mother, supported the war effort, and lived with family members in various parts of the South. United with Ewell on Christmas 1945, they moved to Marietta, Georgia where her second son, Edwin Charles Atkins was born. In 1950 the family moved to Wheaton, Maryland where Ewell had a career with the Veterans Administration in Washington, DC.
Grace nurtured her family and friends, taught kindergarten, and was active in her church. She was a role model for dignity, love and honesty. Every Christmas she painted a seasonal mural on the glass storm door of their home that was widely admired. After retirement, Grace and Ewell moved south; first to Greenwood, South Carolina and then to Holmes Beach, Florida. In 2005 she moved to the United Methodist Chelsea Retirement Community for a decade of inspiring living among friends and four generations of family in nearby Ann Arbor and New York City. She continued a passion for baseball, moving her allegiance from the Atlanta Braves to the Detroit Tigers.
Grace is survived by sons Daniel (Monica, Ann Arbor), Edwin (New York City); grandson Thomas Atkins (Leticia Valdez, Ann Arbor) and granddaughter Susan Atkins (Michael Fainter, Ann Arbor). Grams, as she is affectionately known, has five great- grandchildren: Owen, Lucas, and Tessa Grace Fainter, and Felix and Maximo Atkins. She leaves many devoted friends. Her life spanned a century -- from the dawn of the automotive age through the modern digital age in which she used the internet, cellphone, and HDTV.
A memorial service, with a reception following, was held at 2 o’clock on Saturday, May 10, 2014 in the Chapel at the Chelsea Retirement Community, 801 West Middle St., Chelsea, Michigan. She will be buried next to her husband of 58 years at the Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia. In lieu of flowers please send contributions to the United Methodist Retirement Center (UMRC) Foundation, Development Office, 805 West Middle Street, Chelsea, Michigan 48118.