Future Renee Akins

Future Akins passed away on August 19th 2026. She was with her beloved sister, Zandra Akins McClendon and her dear friend, Rebecca Riley. A proud "military brat," Lubbock became her home after her father's retirement. Zandra and Future's father, Lt. Col Dudley S. Akins, once remarked to Future that he "raised her to marry an officer," to which she so aptly replied, "No sir, you raised me to BE an officer." That gumption, spirit, and smart-assed nature would drive some incredible accomplishments through her 76 years. Art quickly became her life-long passion. While Future loved art mainly for what it could do to help people, she earned many accolades for her art as well. While still in grad school at Texas Tech, her artwork was exhibited nationally and internationally, including in the 1977 World Print Competition, an exhibition circulated by the Smithsonian Institution. Today it can be found in institutional collections including those at Texas Tech University and the University of North Dakota as well as in the homes of people who loved her work. Future didn't just participate in Lubbock's art world, she helped build it. She connected art, history, music and the culture of the places she loved. During her time as curator of art at the Texas Tech Museum, she developed projects like "Honky Tonk Visions," collaborating with celebrated musicians Terry Allen and Joe Ely. Future was instrumental in the creation and development of the Lubbock art community, leading seminal projects such as the Lubbock Lights Contemporary Art Gallery. She believed strongly that art should be accessible to anyone and that art education could change the trajectory of a young person's life. Future would connect with and encourage many students during her meaningful teaching career. She was inspired every day by the energy and truth of her students. Future absolutely loved teaching because she believed everyone had something worth expressing, especially those who weren't typical "artists" or who came from marginalized communities. Future was incredibly proud of a project that paired middle-school students from Lubbock with Texas Tech art students to build low-rider "dream bikes." The project was specifically designed to help young people see art as a pathway toward college and as something relevant to their own lives and culture. Through countless similar projects Future didn't just produce art, she produced artists. Her family has heard incredible stories from her students who participated in her MFA program at the TTU-Junction campus. She went far beyond just being a teacher, working hard to secure funding for them and continuing to support them for the rest of her life. She went on to write about it in the book Roads to Junction: Making Art, Teaching Art (2016). Future eventually retired from Texas Tech as a tenured Associate Professor. In her life, her art remained deeply autobiographical, exploring themes of real loss, grief, relationships, aging, womanhood, and healing. Art wasn't decoration to Future. It was a way of surviving, understanding, communicating and connecting. She drove for years with the same bumper sticker on her car: "Art Saves Lives." For Future, it wasn't simply a slogan. It was a way of life. Future was quirky, fun and wholly herself, which was probably the mission her father "Colonel" really meant to give her so many years ago. She lives on in the memories of her family, friends and students were so very lucky to know her. Memories with her sister started with growing up traveling around the world as children and went all the way to giggling on the front porch in Cloudcroft, New Mexico the past few years. She loved her family deeply including Zandra and Randy McClendon, her nephew Grant McClendon, and her step-son Robert "Rabbit" Owen-Miller. That love extended to many dear friends like Camille and Fenna from Lubbock and many, many others. Her family would like to thank the staff of Bee Hive Assisted Living, especially Deana, Autumn and Sally. We also thank our angel from hospice, Macy, who took such good care of her. We love you, Future, with all our hearts that you so wonderfully taught us how to use, how to heal and how to grow again.

Future Renee Akins

February 19, 1950 - August 19, 2026