Kenneth Mcrae Atkins

Kenneth McRae Atkins, 85, of Cartwright, passed away Thursday, May 22, at his home in the presence of his daughter, Misty, and son-in-law, Chip, after a courageous battle with lung cancer.

A celebration of Mr. Atkins’ life is scheduled for 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 10, at First United Methodist Church of Winnsboro, Texas. The service will follow a Visitation at the church at 9a.m. He is to be interred at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas at 3 p.m., alongside his beloved wife, Kay, who preceded him in death in 2018. Mr. Atkins was born on Oct. 16. 1939 in Athens, Texas, the son of Kenneth and Mollie Belle Atkins. He graduated from Athens High School in 1958 and enrolled in Henderson County Junior College in Athens for a short period of time before enlisting in the United States Navy. While serving in the Navy, he met Karol Kay Holley while on a short leave in New Orleans. After a moderately short courtship, the couple were married on July 9, 1960, in Winnsboro. Shortly thereafter, the newlyweds moved to San Diego, Calif., where Mr. Atkins completed his Naval service, then moved back to Athens.

Trained in the Navy in Electronics, Mr. Atkins soon found work as a journeyman electrician at Texas Wholesale in Athens. In 1964, he and Kay welcomed their firstborn child, a daughter named Misty Lynn. Three years later, the family moved to Arlington, Texas, where he began working as a computer programmer at Tarrant County Junior College in Fort Worth. In 1968, the family of three became four with the birth of their son, Todd Jason. In 1973, after a six-year stay at TCJC, Mr. Atkins went to work for the Texas Education Agency’s Region X office in Richardson, again as a computer programmer. Mr. Atkins remained with Region X until his retirement in 1998, after a 25-year tenure. He returned to work there on a part-time basis before leaving for good in 2002. Shortly after that, he and Kay moved to Cartwright to eventually move

into his in-laws’ home after their deaths. They were faithful members of First UMC Winnsboro in the years following. Mr. Atkins enjoyed hunting, fishing, his farm work in Cartwright, and

reading dozens of Western novels and watching Western movies, especially the works of Louis L’Amour. Mr. Atkins was preceded in death by his wife, Kay; his parents, Kenneth and Mollie Belle Atkins; his sister and brother-in-law, Leah Ann and Kenneth Costlow; and his in-laws, Clinton and Vallee Holley.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Misty and Chip Ely of Winnsboro; his son and daughter-in-law, Todd and Kerri Atkins of Menlo Park, Calif.; grandchildren Kelsey Kay Barton, Stoney Gilbert, Jacob Atkins and Henry Atkins; great grandchildren, Autumn, Lilly, Hayden, Jagger, Atticus, Aiden, Rhiannon, Eli and Kasen; and numerous nieces and nephews, all of

whom he loved very much.