NAOMI MITCHUM
November 7, 1929 - September 8, 2022
Naomi Louise Estopy Mitchum, born November 7, 1929, died peacefully in Houston, TX, on August 8, 2022. Naomi was a person of endless compassion, talent, dedication and vision. She loved her family, first and foremost. She built a lifelong career as a Christian educator, disabilities advocate, and writer. Born in Parsons,
KS, Naomi graduated from Parsons Junior College and Baker University in 1951.
She served as director of Christian education at First United Methodist Church in Coffeyville, KS, from 1951 to 1952. From 1952 to 1954, she was director of youth work at Boston Avenue Church in Oklahoma. There she met and married Robert “Bob” Mitchum, who was a member of the adult singles group under her charge. Bob was employed by the Carter Oil Company Research Center, a predecessor of Exxon Mobil in Tulsa. After 10 years, they were transferred to Houston to the Exxon Production
Research Company. Daughter Ann Lorraine and son Robert Adams were born in Tulsa and son Paul Joseph was born in Houston.
No matter where she lived or what church she attended, Naomi was passionate about Christian education, teaching Sunday School and educating teachers. When she was forced into a wheelchair by multiple sclerosis, she because a disabilities advocate, working as a Methodist Conference consultant, helping churches become barrier-free for persons with disabilities. She received the Houston Mayor’s Disability Advocate of the Year award in 2010, the Dick Murray Award for Excellence in Christian Education in 2013, and the United Methodist Church Disabilities Ministries Committee’s Robert M Pitzer Award in 2016.
A major achievement was establishing the Circle of Friends, a large group of intellectually challenged adults and children, at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in
Houston. They met for Sunday School and Wednesday evening activities, including Bible studies, drama, music, and crafts. At its height, enrollment was over 180 students and 80 instructors and helpers. Her pastor,
Jim Jackson, was an active supporter of the program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
All her life, Naomi had a writer’s imagination, producing a steady stream of poetry, short stories, novels, children’s books, plays and educational materials. Her book, “Harps in the Willows,” a collection of inspirational stories, was used in Salvation Army Counseling Centers after 9/11. “The Reluctant Immigrant” follows the journey of a young German girl to help settle New Braunfels, TX. Her “Quick Look for Volunteer Emergency Responders” is a guide for aiding persons with disabilities in emergencies. “Every Child Can Bloom in the Inclusive Classroom” helps Sunday School teachers who have persons with disabilities included in their classes. In addition, she wrote much Sunday School material for the United Methodist Church. Her very comprehensive book, “A Walk with God Through Cancer,” was inspired in part by her own bout with cancer. It is almost complete.
Naomi was a talented musician, equally skilled on the violin and piano. She played violin in a women’s symphony orchestra in Kansas. She also loved to fish using her favorite bait: Oscar Meyer Cheese hotdogs.
Naomi is survived by her husband Robert Mitchum, children Ann Kuhn (Bill),
Robert Adams Mitchum (Regeana), and Paul Mitchum; grandchildren Will Kuhn (Aaron Collins), Andy Kuhn (Nicole), Jana Coker and John Mitchum; and great grandchildren, James and Grayson Kuhn, Jaxon and Hank Sams, and McKynlee and Layla Coker. She is predeceased by her parents Hazel and Joseph Estopy, her sister Mary Estopy Mielke, and grandson Blake Coker.
A memorial service will be held Monday August
15 at 2:00 at Chapelwood Methodist Church in the chapel at 11140 Greenbay St. in Houston. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Naomi’s memory be made to Chapelwood United Methodist Church-Circle of Friends, 11140 Greenbay St., Houston, TX 77024.