Robert Earle Atkinson, Jr.

FLORENCE Robert Earle Atkinson, Jr., 84, died Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at his residence in Columbus, North Carolina, after an illness.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 13, 2015, at Central United Methodist Church in Florence, directed by Waters-Powell Funeral Home. The family will receive friends in the Spears Fellowship Hall immediately following the service. A private family burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Mr. Atkinson was born in Latta, SC, a son of the late Robert Earle Atkinson, Sr., and Vivian Mae McMillan Atkinson. He attended Wofford College and graduated from the University of South Carolina, where he played baseball. He was a Korean War veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was a member of the MATS Ferrying Squadron, which transported military planes worldwide.

Following his military service, he came to Florence and joined the family business, Dilmar Oil Company, which he served as Chairman of the Board. As a long-time Florence resident, he was active in professional organizations, civic organizations, and served on many boards including the Federal Reserve Board in Richmond, VA, for two terms. He was an active member of Central United Methodist Church in Florence, and currently attended Jackson Grove Methodist Church in Landrum, SC.

His passion was flying, and he often piloted the company plane.

Survivors include his wife, Frances Atkinson, of Columbus, NC; a daughter, Margaret N. Meg Atkinson, also of Columbus; two sons, Robert Earle Atkinson, III, of Georgetown, SC, and William Gray (Elizabeth) Atkinson of Florence; and four grandchildren, Robert Earle Atkinson, IV, Elizabeth Ellis Atkinson, Frances Eva Atkinson, and Grayce Elizabeth Atkinson, all of Florence.

Memorials may be made to Central United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 87, Florence, SC 29502; or to Jackson Grove Methodist Church, 2811 N. Pacolet Rd., Landrum, SC 29356.

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