Charles Edgar Atkinson

Psalm 40:1-3a
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.

Charles Edgar Atkinson waited patiently for the Lord. His body was aching from multiple myeloma and his mind was fading. He waited patiently to be pulled out of mud and mire of this world. On Sunday morning, February 14, 2021, his wait was over. As his family sang, prayed and read scripture to him, his Lord said, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” His family’s voices faded as he rose to be embraced by Jesus with a new body singing a new song on firm ground. Charles is now with the saints—including his father, mother and sister—singing hymns of praise to our God.
Charles was born October 22, 1936 in Roanoke, VA, to Virginia Byrd Walker Atkinson and Alston Lee Atkinson. He was a big brother to sister, Sandra Jones. Charles met his wife, Jacquelin (Jackie) Deanna Connell Atkinson while at William Fleming High School in Roanoke. Their families attended the same church, Oakland Baptist, a five-minute walk from his front door. Charles graduated from Virginia Tech with an electrical engineering degree. Charles and Jackie were married on June 25, 1960. They made their first home and had their two children, Melissa and Mark, in Clearwater, FL. Charles spent his early working years at General Electric. After a brief stay in Waynesboro, VA, the family settled into Alexandria, VA, near Mt. Vernon.
Charles added a JD from American University School of Law to his resume and spent 25-plus years at the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Though they often tried to promote him to management, he always preferred being one of the guys and not being a manager. At his retirement lunch in 1994, one consistent comment made by his PTO co-workers was that Charles always took time to talk to people, ask about their families, and coach them. For an adult son who always thought his dad was “just an engineer,” that son learned that his dad was not only exceptional in his specialized field but he was also able to love his co-workers by caring about them and asking questions about their lives and sincerely listening to their answers. In a highly technical field where many of the socially-phobic engineers stayed in their offices, Charles connected with people as a mentor, encourager and counselor. The church recognized Charles’ gift for empathy, compassion and godly wisdom. He was a Sunday School teacher (4th grade boys, college age and adult couples), AWANA leader and ordained as a Deacon at Plymouth Haven Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA and later at Newington Baptist Church in Gloucester, VA.
Upon retirement Charles and Jackie moved to a riverside home in Gloucester VA. They started “Camp Holly Harbor” for the growing number of grandchildren. The camp—their home—was a playground of Big Bertha, lawn mower and motorboat rides, ping pong, crafts, hiking, exploring, sailing and sleeping in Narnia (an attic space converted into a bunkroom). While in Gloucester, Charles started the Gloucester Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief ministry. Charles and Jackie did relief work in Wheeling, WV and Picayune, MS. Charles also began a weekly exercise class—“chair exercise to music”—at the nursing home where his mother lived her final days.
In 2006, Charles and Jackie moved to Croasdaile Village, a continuing care retirement community, in Durham to be near eight grandchildren. Charles started and for eight years ran a weekly exercise program for the older residents in the Pavilion, Croasdaile Village’s nursing facility. Charles’ final months were in the Pavilion and many nurses remembered him and those exercise classes from years earlier.
Charles is survived by his wife, Jackie; daughter, Melissa (Missy) Williams married to Randy Williams; son, Mark Atkinson married to Helen Parker Atkinson; eight grandchildren: Benjamin Charles Williams married to Anna Gates Williams, Rebecca Williams, Kevin Atkinson, Matthew Williams, Sarah Atkinson, Joanna Williams Dickson married to Zachary Dickson, William Atkinson, and Stephen Atkinson; and one great grandchild: Riley Jane Williams, daughter of Ben and Anna Williams.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 20, at First Baptist Church Durham (FBCD) at 11 am. A visitation from 10-11 am, also at FBCD, precedes the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to either:
(1) FBC Durham’s More Than a Building fund. To give online, visit www.fbcdurham.org/GiveMTAB and choose “In memory of Charles Atkinson” for the memo line. Checks can be written and mailed to FBC Durham, Attn: Finance Office, 414 Cleveland Street, Durham, NC 27701, with “MTAB, memory of Charles Atkinson” in the memo line.
or
(2) Croasdaile Village (Benevolent Fund in memory of Charles Atkinson)
2600 Croasdaile Village Parkway
Durham, NC 27705
croasdailevillage.org
The Benevolent Fund is for residents in need.
The family expresses great appreciation to the doctors and nurses of the Duke Health Care system. Charles saw many of them. Charles was particularly well cared for by the loving staff of the Pavilion. They bathed him, they dressed him and they made him smile. The family will be forever grateful for the service of those heroes. His family saw it and we thank you.