Charles Atkinson

ATKINSON, Charles McDonald (Mac)
May 26, 1923 - October 23, 2012
Mac passed away peacefully at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital after a short illness and a long, healthy and busy life. Mac was born in Listowel, Ontario and moved shortly thereafter with his parents Arthur and Clara and his older brother Bill to the Pengarth District in Saskatchewan where his mother's family had homesteaded. When Mac was 9 yrs old they moved to Abbotsford, BC where Mac graduated from High School in 1941. Mac enlisted in the Navy in October 1942 following his brother's death in the Airforce earlier that year. Mac was a signalman initially on a frigate and later on corvettes on convoy duty in the North Atlantic until the end of the war. Mac graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from UBC in May 1949 just a week before his marriage to Dorothy Mallett whom he had met while working at BC Electric. They lived first in Vancouver and then in North Vancouver with a short stint in Brentwood Bay in between. Mac worked with GMAC and Seaboard Finance until 1964 at which time he took the position of credit manager at the Nanaimo and District Credit Union. He subsequently worked for a law firm and then was a Real Estate Appraiser before his retirement. Mac attended Capilano United Church and then was a member of Highlands United Church in North Vancouver prior to moving to Nanaimo. In Nanaimo Mac was a long term member of Brechin United Church, the Nanaimo Horticulture Society and the Nanaimo Golf Club as well as being an originating member of the Nanaimo Dance Club. Mac drove for Meals on Wheels for 25 years before giving this up less than 2 years ago. He was a member of the Probus Club and a past member of the Legion and Toastmasters. Mac played tennis this past summer and was playing bridge regularly. He loved his garden and picked his beans and tomatoes the day he went into hospital. Mac was looked up to by his daughter and granddaughters as a model of a good husband. He was a patient husband and he had a good heart. He is predeceased by his parents and brother and is survived by his wife Dorothy, his daughter Pam Brown (Allan), granddaughters Cydney Shapiro (Jordan), Cayley Brown, Caroline Brown, as well as his great grandchildren Braxton and Chloe. Mac was loved by many and will be very missed by his family, many good friends and neighbours. As a doctor said to us in the hospital, Mac put in 'good innings.' A Celebration of Life will be held at Brechin United Church, 1998 Estevan Road, Nanaimo, BC on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 at 2pm.