Mrs. Mary Ruth Hutson Atkins, 81, of Ararat, North Carolina passed away quietly and peacefully in her home on the evening of August 1st. Mrs. Atkins was born in Surry County on March 29, 1931; the daughter of the late John William and Edna Johnson Hutson of Ararat, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by her husband, Clifton Baird Atkins, and her brothers, Kenneth Dale Hutson and Billy Gray Hutson of Ararat, NC and son-in-law, Herbert Lee Stevenson. Mrs. Atkins was wife and mother to her family. She is a charter member of Temple Baptist Church in Mount Airy, NC. Surviving are her seven children: Helen and John Gwyn of Winston-Salem, NC; Nancy Stevenson of Ararat, NC; Johnny and Janet Atkins of Mount Airy, NC; David and Pauline Atkins of Ararat, Virginia; Audrey and Dennis Freeman of Mount Airy, NC; Twain Atkins, of Ararat, NC; and Joseph Atkins of Kernersville, NC. Mrs. Atkins is also survived by seven brothers and sisters: Annie Mae Bruner, Bobby Ray and Virginia Hutson, Leonard Preston Hutson, Hilda Faye and and Billy Bruner, Ronnie Junior and Iva Lee Hutson, Randell William Hutson, Bonnie Sue and Jerry Shropshire; sixteen grandchildren, thirty great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Funeral Services will be at Temple Baptist Church in Mt. Airy on Saturday, August 4th, at 2:00 pm. Officiating at the service will be the Reverend Zane Fishel. Interment will follow immediately at Little Mountain Baptist Church in Ararat, NC. The family will be receiving visitors from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on Friday, August 3rd, at Moody Funeral Home in Mount Airy, NC where the body will remain until the time to be taken to the church to lie-in-state 30 minutes prior to the service. The family would like to express a very special thank you to Mountain Valley Hospice and to Ms. Sherri McCraw, CNA for her exceptional care of both the late Mr. and Mrs. Atkins.