George W. Atkinson

George W. "Bill" Atkinson, 78, of Columbia City, Ind. passed away at 6:02 p.m. Sunday, December 21, 2014 at Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne.Born on November 27, 1936 in Coudersport, Pa., he was the son of George Will and Violet (Peet) Atkinson.

He graduated from Coudersport High School with the Class of 1954 and served in the U.S. Air Force with time spent in Labrador. In 1961, he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Indiana Institute of Technology.On January 6, 1962, George married Linda C. Friskney in Albion. He was a registered Professional Engineer with licenses in Indiana and Florida. He worked eight years as a Whitley County Engineer and 29 years with INDOT and retired as an Operations Engineer for the Ft. Wayne District in 2000. He was a member of First Church of God in Columbia City.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Linda Atkinson; son, Tim (Tina) Atkinson;daughter, Trisha (Bruce) Miller; grandsons, Luke Miller and Ben Atkinson, all of Columbia City; sisters, Berna Phillips of Fort Myers, Fla., Donna Grant of Coudersport, Pa.; and brother-in-law, Robert Deitrick of Belleview, Fla. He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Wilma Webster and Elsie Deitrick.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 26, 2014 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, December 27, 2014 at the funeral home. Pastor Johnny McCallister and Pastor Jim Martin will be officiating. Burial will follow at Christian Chapel Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in memory of George to Samaritans Purse (Operation Christmas Child).