Dr. Atkinson

Dr. Ronald Atkinson left this earth to meet his Eternal Father on January 24, 2019, age 85. He was surrounded by loved ones and the holy spirit. Ronald Olin Atkinson, born in Griffin, Georgia in 1933 to the late Olin and Florence G. Atkinson, was raised to understand what it meant to live with and without, to have and to have not, and to give to those in need. His love for Christ and Bible teaching developed at a very young age, and by the time he was a teenager, he was teaching Sunday School and encouraging his peers and elders in their personal relationship with Jesus. As an emerging adult, he developed a deep understanding and love for mathematics, where he later went to college and pursued a terminal degree. Although Ron was astutely aware some people might question the disconnect between hard science and theology, he made it clear math belongs to God, and to understand math is to understand Him more. During the Cold War, he took the knowledge he acquired into the Navy where he fervently prayed, "Lord, I don't want to go on a ship," and in turn, the Navy put him on an airplane hunting submarines in the icy North Atlantic, with an occasional brush with Soviet planes. Following the war, he pursued a long and rewarding career as a math professor at the University of Tennessee, Nashville, which later merged with Tennessee State University. Ron's students knew him as Dr. A., not just the math professor, but first and foremost, as a lover of God and Sunday school teacher, even teaching in his home just two weeks prior to his death. The bookshelves in his home he shared with his wife of 56 years are overflowing with books on Theology and Biblical Studies, serving as a personal testimony to his family and others of his devotion to God and understanding of the Bible and the Holy Trinity. His family is quite certain while enjoying his heavenly home, he will still be teaching a little Sunday school to a big audience. Ron was preceded in death by his eldest son Raymond T. Atkinson, and is survived by his wife of 56 years, Tomi B. Atkinson, his children Timothy N. Atkinson, Christopher D. Atkinson, and his grandchildren David and Elizabeth Atkinson, and his beloved four-legged companion, Tanner. Funeral Services will be held 11:00AM Monday at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home with visitation 4-7:00PM Sunday and one hour prior to the service Monday. Interment will be held at Williamson Memorial Gardens. 615-794-2289 www.williamsonmemorial.com

Visitation Details

Sunday, January 27th, 2019 4:00pm - 7:00pm, Williamson Memorial Funeral Home

Monday, January 28th, 2019 10:00am - 11:00am, Williamson Memorial Funeral Home

Service Information

Monday, January 28th, 2019 11:00am, Williamson Memorial Funeral Home