Roll Call Tribute

Nathalia Childs "Nat" Adams, DVM 

August 21, 1943 - January 8, 2025 

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Nathalia "Nat" (Childs) Adams at her home in Overbrook, Oklahoma, on January 8, 2025, from cancer.

Born August 21, 1943, to Dorothy and Nathaniel Childs, Nat grew up in Denton, Texas. By the time she was three years old, she would tell anyone who asked that she wanted to be a veterinarian. She was among the first classes at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine to allow women to enroll, graduating in 1969. She practiced large- and small-animal veterinary medicine in Denton, Texas, in Connecticut, and just about anywhere she saw an animal in need. Nat ceaselessly donated her time and resources to her community and neighbors to ensure that pets and livestock (and people) received the care they needed. This included running free spay-and-neutering clinics, rescuing abused and neglected pets from their owners, and fostering and adopting countless strays. She was incredibly generous, compassionate, fiercely independent, and according to more than one friend, "She was one of the strongest women I've known."

When Nat wasn't caring for animals at her clinic (which tended to happen at all hours, day and night) she raised dairy goats, sheep, and quarter horses. She loved wide-open skies, the desert, riding horses, dancing, and her four-legged companions. "I never expected to live this long," she said when the severity of her diagnosis was clear. "I've had a really good life."

Nat is survived by her brothers, Dan and Travis; her children Colby, Tyler, and Treva; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many beloved pets. She is preceded in death by her son Nathan and many, many beloved pets.

Celebrations of Life will be held on January 20, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. at the Denton Woman's Club Building (610 Oakland St., Denton, TX) and on January 21, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at Eastman Baptist Church (5343 Eastman Rd., Overbrook, OK).