ALMA AKINS

ALMA LORENE SECKEL AKINS LANTANA - Alma LoRene Seckel Akins passed away on July 9, 2023, in Denton, Texas, surrounded by loved ones. She was born on March 7, 1937, to Alma Fredericka Laura (Otto) and George Franz Seckel in Tecumseh, Okla. She was the youngest of six children. She met Jack Walton Akins at the McLoud Blackberry Festival and they were married on January 21, 1955, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Shawnee, Okla. They had three children: Julia LoRene, Jack "Bud" Walton, and Timothy Paul. In 2005, Jack and Alma were Grand Marshals at the McLoud Blackberry Parade in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. Jack passed away in 2010, and now they are reunited. LoRene pursued post-secondary education at Jack's urging and enrolled part-time at Oklahoma Baptist University in 1956 while she was pregnant with her first child. Over the next 10 years, LoRene picked up college credits as work and family obligations permitted. To earn her last few credits, she commuted an hour each way from Sulphur to Shawnee with her youngest child in tow. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1968 and became a public school teacher in Oklahoma. She went on to complete a Master of Science in education in 1983 from Oklahoma State University and then taught adult business education at Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee, where she helped organize the center's Oklahoma Education Association chapter. Education was highly valued by LoRene. She believed that education helped broaden people's worlds and increased their opportunities. But, above all, LoRene valued family. She taught us all how to live well, love deeply, and to be an advocate for all. LoRene touched countless lives with her compassion, empathy, faith, and love. The world was made brighter and kinder by her presence in it, and she will be deeply missed. LoRene is preceded in death by her parents Alma Fredericka Laura (Otto) and George Franz Seckel; siblings Milton Seckel, Kenneth Seckel, Rose Marie (Seckel) Sturgis, Lloyd Seckel, and Jimmy Seckel; her husband Jack Walton Akins and his siblings, Ray Akins, Polly (Akins) Capps, Grace (Akins) Wallis, and Walter Akins, Jr; as well as great-granddaughters Madyson Avery Akins and Naomi Alma Akins. LoRene is survived by her daughter Julia Akins Clark and her husband Nick, son Jack "Bud" Walton Akins Jr. and his wife Connie, son Timothy Paul Akins and his wife Debbie; grandchildren Lisa Clark, Summer Lilley and her husband Cody, Bryan David Akins and his wife Jessica, Laura Lynn Akins, Andrew Paul Akins and his wife Emily, Savannah Berry and her husband Derek, Mitchell Burrus; great-grandchildren Drake Clark, Bryson Akins, Elliot Cooper, Kit Cooper, Peyton Lilley, Parker Lilley, Eli Berry, Audrey Cooper, Cason Akins, Jack Akins; as well as several other family members and friends; and her beloved Corgi Oakley. A memorial service will be held at Argyle Methodist Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, 2023, officiated by Associate Pastor Jennifer Stevens. This service can be livestreamed for those who cannot attend. A celebration of LoRene's life will be held in Oklahoma Sunday, August 6, 2023, at a location to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in LoRene's honor to Up Ministry, a local nonprofit organization that provides assistance, including school supplies, clothing, weekend meals, and summer camps, to at-risk kids in the Argyle, Denton, and neighboring communities.