James Thomas "Tom" Atkins

1925 - 2020

James Thomas Atkins, MD, (Tom), 94, of Inverness, Florida, passed away on Monday, February 24, 2020, 11:30 AM, at home with his wife at his side.
A Memorial and Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2020, at 11 AM at St Margaret's Episcopal Church, 114 N Osceola Ave, Inverness, FL 34450. A luncheon reception will follow the service in Rairdon Hall, the church's Parish hall.
Tom was born in Aurora, Illinois, and moved at a very young age with his parents and younger brother to Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia at Athens with a medical degree. He served in the U.S. Army during the end of World War II and as a U.S. Naval officer in the early 1950s. He married his sweetheart, Lily Jean Meaders Atkins (Skeet), in Toccoa, George on November 25, 1948. As of 2019, they had been married 71 years.
Tom spent his adult life as a respected medical doctor with a specialty in anesthesiology in Florida, Saudi Arabia, and Arizona. Tom was invited to develop and expand King Faisal's Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the 1970s. Because of his success, he was asked to return to Saudi Arabia to work with another hospital in another city. Most notably, Tom enjoyed telling the story of how he along with several associates from the Jacksonville area came together to problem-solve and develop the procedures used on ambulances to better stabilize patients while being transported to the hospital. The success of their efforts are now common practice or best practice for EMTs across America today. Next time you watch a television show like 911 or Lone Star 911, think of Dr. Tom. Until the day he passed, he continued to say he missed being in the operating room, "passing gas." His sense of humor was a gift in challenging situations in life.
When Tom was not in the operating room, he was playing golf, boating, volunteering with the Shriners, or traveling to explore the U.S with his family as a young father with his wife and children. After the children had grown, Tom and Skeet were able to leisurely explore all parts of the U.S, one golf course at a time, making friends and lasting memories all along the way. He enjoyed life. He was and exceptional cook and along with Skeet entertained for small and large gatherings. Tom had a strong and enduring faith in our Christian God and felt his deepest calling in life was to care for and protect his family.
Tom is survived by his wife, Skeet, his three children, Terri Atkins and her wife the Rev. Marianne McPherson of Inverness, Florida, Barbi Atkins of Woodland Park, Colorado, and Tom Atkins of St Petersburg, Florida, his granddaughter Shawni Dailey, her husband, Patrick, and their daughter, Miriella, Tom's great granddaughter of Spokane, Washington, and his grandson Jesse Atkins of Woodland Park, Colorado. He was preceded in death by his parents Bud and Gladys Atkins and his brother David Atkins.
Flowers will be appreciated as they are loved so much by Tom's wife, Skeet, or donations in lieu of flowers may be made to St Margaret's Memorial Fund.