Carol Gravely Atkins Goughnour

Carol Gravely Atkins Goughnour, (83) died August 6, 2017. A celebration of her life will be held at Faith Presbyterian Church on August 11, 2017 at 3 p.m. The family will receive friends in the church’s Fellowship Hall immediately after the service. Interment will take place at a later date in the Gravely site, Spring Hill Cemetery, Charleston, West Virginia. A native of Charleston, Mrs. Goughnour was born on June 14, 1934 to William Schaum and Frances Fravel Gravely. She attended the College of William and Mary and was graduated cum laud with a degree in Fine Arts from West Virginia University where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. The mother of seven children, the joys of her life, she moved to Tallahassee in 1955 with their father, Robert L. Atkins, and taught at Elizabeth Cobb Middle School prior to becoming a mother. In addition to her involvement with the children’s activities, voluntarism and community organization were always of major interest. She served as president of the Junior League of Tallahassee in 1973-74, and was involved with organizing the task force for Leon School Volunteers, as well as the Voluntary Action Center of the United Way (now Volunteer Big Bend) of which she later became executive director. In 1979, the VAC served as catalyst for the first Volunteer Awards Luncheon cosponsored by the Tallahassee Democrat. The growth of this volunteer appreciation event was most gratifying to her. Active at Faith Presbyterian Church, she served as the Church’s second female deacon. She was also a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae, and assisted with the colonization of Florida State University’s Epsilon Zeta chapter in 1961. Always involved with her children’s activities, she volunteered for the Tallahassee Pony Club, a variety of school and sports activities and was an early member of the Tallahassee Civic Ballet Board of Directors. In the early 80s, having relocated to Lexington, Kentucky, for a period, she was asked to help network and promote awareness of adult education, putting together and promoting a distance learning series for Kentucky Educational Television, GED on TV. She was instrumental in establishing statewide broadcasting and student recruitment for GED on TV and Learn to Read distance learning series and was an executive producer for five statewide literacy telethons which recruited more than 5,000 high school dropouts to enroll in GED home study programs. In Lexington, she was a member of the Board of Directors of Equestrian Events, Inc., organizers of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, serving as Press Secretary for eight years. She was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lexington and a Ruling Elder for Midway Presbyterian Church. In 1992, she returned to Tallahassee to be with her adult children and to establish a grant-funded Educational Outreach department for WFSU Broadcast Center to promote adult and family literacy. Two statewide telethons recruited more than 3,000 Florida high school dropouts who enrolled in GED classes via distance learning. In 1995, she was honored by the Florida Literacy Coalition for this initiative. In 2006, she attended her 55th Charleston High School Class reunion and became reacquainted with former classmate, Bob Goughnour, an engineer retired from the E.I. duPont de Nemours. Married in October, 2007, they have enjoyed life together in Tallahassee. In recent years, Mrs. Goughnour has been a member of Faith Presbyterian Church, Junior League of Tallahassee Sustainers, Violet Garden Circle, Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae, and formerly, the Goodwood Museum and Gardens Board of Directors. A member of the original organizing committee for Red Hills International Horse Trials, she served as co-chair for their marketing and media relations for many years and organized two Parades of Breeds, a crowd favorite. She was privileged to work in the international Media Center for the 2010 World Equestrian Games, held in Lexington, Ky. In addition to many fun family times, enjoying her grandchildren and singing in the Faith Presbyterian choir, her current favorite activity was to return to Lexington each spring and assist in the Media Center for the CCI Four-star Rolex Kentucky Equestrian Championships. Survivors include her husband, James Robert Goughnour; son James Steven Atkins, II (Leigh), St. George Island; five daughters, Staton Atkins, Page Atkins Hagan (Bruce), Courtney Atkins, Mary Linville Atkins (Stephen Meck), all of Tallahassee, and Bethany Atkins Rice (Alan), Lexington, Kentucky; eight grandchildren, Grayson Lee and William McKenzie Hagan, Frances Sabel and Mary Gardner Rice, Resh Bedell and John Stephen “Jack” Meck, Carol Chambers and Robert Atticus Miller. In addition, she is survived by her brother, William S. Gravely (Pam), Tallahassee and Charleston, W.Va.; nephews, William S. Gravely, III, Crawfordville, and John S. Gravely (Kim), and their children, Ethan and Taylor Gravely, Dunwoody, Ga. Other survivors include stepchildren Robert M. Goughnour (Phyllis), and Tracy G. Aufleger (Chris) of Suwanee, Ga.; Marcia G. Jacelone (Joe), Overland Park, KS; and stepdaughter-in-law, Debra M. Goughnour, Wilmington, North Carolina, and nine step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Goughnour was preceded in death by her son, John Thompson Fravel Atkins, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William S. Gravely, and her children’s father, Robert L. Atkins. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the John T. F. Atkins Memorial Scholarship, Marshall University Foundation, 519 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, W.Va. 25703, or to Faith Presbyterian Church Music Ministry, 3200 North Meridian Road, Tallahassee, Fl. 32303. Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the family with their arrangements. (www.bevisfh.com 850-385-2193)

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Carol Gravely Atkins Goughnour

June 14, 1934 - August 6, 2017