Howard Glenn Adkins passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, at St. Mary’s Hospital on Saturday, November 1st, 2025.
He was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on November 11, 1933, to Tommie and Audrey Clark Adkins, and was soon joined by his younger brother, Joel, and sister, Ann. They were a hardworking farm family: they planted cotton, chopped cotton, hoed cotton, picked cotton, and then took it to the cotton gin. Working with cotton meant working with mules. His favorite mule was Jake.
As a boy, he and his friends had many adventures in the Pearl River swamp.
In 5th grade, he was at the top of his class (he was the only student). In high school, he drove his own school bus (this is true). On cold mornings, he defrosted the windshield with an onion (this might be true).
After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy. One night, while on leave, he decided to pay a visit (in uniform) to the home of Dorothy Ann Wells, who he had kept his eye on since school. When Carrie Wells, Dorothy’s mother, told her there was a sailor at the door, Dorothy said, “I don’t know any sailor. Tell him I’m not here.” But Dorothy changed her mind upon realizing the mystery sailor was Howard Adkins. He took her to the movies, and as Dorothy liked to say, “I’ve been going with him to the movies ever since.”
Howard and Dorothy were married in 1956 and had three children: Steve, Gail, and Clark. Upon completing his Navy service, Howard attended college on the GI Bill, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Howard liked college so much, he just kept going. He earned a master’s degree in history; then, the family moved to Knoxville when he was accepted into the University of Tennessee’s Ph.D. program in geography. In 1970, he joined the faculty at Marshall University, bringing the family to West Virginia.
In 1972, Howard successfully defended his dissertation, “The Historical Geography of Extinct Towns in Mississippi,” earning the title of Dr. Adkins. He published widely and was a respected scholar in his field. On at least one occasion, he used his research as an excuse to keep a jar of fire ants in the house. A mainstay in Marshall’s geography department, he achieved the rank of full professor and served for several years as department chair.
Upon retiring as Professor Emeritus, he took up genealogy, which he pursued with the same methodological rigor he had applied to his scholarship. After tracing the Adkins line to the early 1600s, he started researching his mother’s family, the Clarks. Once he exhausted the Clarks, he moved onto the Wells (Dorothy’s father’s family) and then the Ouzts (Dorothy’s mother’s line). Among other discoveries, he learned that one of his ancestors had wintered at Valley Forge with George Washington.
A few years before he retired, Howard and Dorothy purchased woodland property in Ona, where they built the home they would inhabit for the next thirty years. They worked hard to improve and maintain “The Land,” as their grandson Logan called it. They built a well-stocked pond, worked a large garden, and planted black walnut trees. They did not plant cotton. Howard also kept a series of trails cleared in the woods, for family hikes and ATV rides. His granddaughter Stephanie delighted in having her own private running trails.
When he was not chopping firewood, operating farm machinery, or digging through census records, Howard enjoyed watching Westerns and reality TV survival shows with Dorothy. He continued taking Dorothy to the movies, and they traveled extensively throughout the country. Howard and Dorothy were longtime members of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church in Huntington, and attended Sunday services regularly until their health no longer allowed it.
Howard’s family always came first. You could count on him to be there for celebrations, tractor rides, and sporting events; but he would also sit with you when you were sick, have a shoulder to cry on, or drop everything to kill a snake. He kept his well-earned “#1 Granddad” certificate framed above his desk. When accused of spoiling one of his grandchildren, he said, “You can’t spoil sugar.”
Howard loved to read. He was a longtime subscriber to National Geographic, which he read from cover to cover, along with the local newspaper. His favorite books included history, biography, westerns, and Jack Reacher novels, but with his natural curiosity and dedication to lifelong learning, he never limited himself by genre. If you ever gave him a book as a gift, you could be sure that he would read the whole thing and discuss it with you.
Howard Adkins knew how to fold a map correctly. He never let anyone win at a board game or dominos. He believed in measuring twice and cutting once. After Dorothy cooked a meal, he always did the dishes.
Howard lived a big life, full of love, family, learning, adventure, and faith. We will miss him dearly.
Howard was predeceased by his brother Joel Adkins, sister Ann Adkins Tingle, son Clark Adkins, and grandson Logan Boone. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Dorothy Wells Adkins; son Steve (Annie) Adkins, daughter Gail Adkins Boone, and daughter-in-law Robin Adkins; grandchildren Stephanie Boone (Daniel) Mosher, David (Alyssa) Adkins, Thomas Boone, Johnathan (Janie) Adkins, Duane Adkins, Eliza Adkins, and Benjamin Adkins; great-grandson Jordan Adkins and great-granddaughter Lily Adkins.
Howard was incredibly proud of the fact that all three of his children and all eight of his grandchildren not only graduated from college but pursued advanced degrees. Jordan and Lily have not yet been to college, but they are only two years old and a few days old, respectively.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8pm at Wallace Funeral Home in Milton on Friday, November 7. The funeral service, also at Wallace, will take place at 10:30am on Saturday, November 8, officiated by the Reverend Bill Wilson. Burial at Forest Memorial Park will follow at noon.
