Naoma Parrish "Shay" Atkins

1928 - 2014

Naoma "Shay" Parrish Atkins, 86, passed peacefully in her sleep Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014. Celebration of life: 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Greenwood Chapel. Visitation and viewing: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Greenwood. Memorials: Southern Poverty Law Center or the Rosa Parks Library and Museum in Montgomery, Ala. Naoma was born July 3, 1928, in Jacksonville, Fla., where as a child, her favorite "Unkie" gave her the nickname Billie. She graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1945 and attended Georgia Tech for a year. She continued to be an avid reader and lifelong learner. In early adulthood, she lived in Virginia, Massachusetts, Georgia and Pennsylvania, finally moving to Texas in 1958 with her husband, Michael Daniels. With a talent and passion for writing, Naoma was soon employed by the Midlothian Mirror writing a weekly religious column, the "Double-Edged Sword," under the pen name Shay, the name by which she would be commonly known. She also wrote and published a book of spiritual poetry and one of country song lyrics. In the 1960s, Shay served as a peace officer in police departments in Lake Worth, Azle, Saginaw and the South Campus of Tarrant County Junior College, an exceptional accomplishment for a woman in that era. In the '70s she worked at American Manufacturing in Fort Worth and was proudly rewarded for her service as a safety officer enforcing the newly established OSHA standards. In her later years, Shay managed convenience stores in the Fort Worth Stockyards area, where her law enforcement training served her well during 13 armed robberies. In 1996, Shay returned to Jacksonville to marry her childhood love, Charles Atkins, whom she cherished until he succumbed to leukemia in 2001. She returned to Fort Worth in 2008 to be with her family. A lifelong advocate for justice and civil rights, Shay was a contributor to the Rosa Parks Library and Museum and a proud member of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the NAACP. Shay was preceded in death by her son, Vincent Daniels. Survivors: Daughters, Sharon Braley, Nora Poe, Patti Fields, Adrienne Roberts and Faith Ayala; son, Terry McGovern; 18 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and many others who claimed her as their "Granny."