Cecilia Adkins, the first woman in the U.S. to head a religious publishing company, died Dec. 30 at her home after a long illness. She was 83.

A native of Atlanta, Adkins worked her way up from junior accountant to executive director of the Nashville-based Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. in 1975, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported.

Adkins told the newspaper in 1989 that she attributed her success in the then-male-dominated world of Christian publishing-where she worked 53 years-to competence, toughness and “thinking like a man.”

She was also the first woman and African-American to serve as head of the Protestant Church-owned Publishers Association. Additionally, Adkins, a graduate of Fisk University and a certified public accountant, was the first woman to serve as chairman of the board of the university.

After visitation at the Nashville funeral home that she built with her late husband, John, Adkins was laid to rest Jan. 5.

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