Daniel Elijah Atherton

Fayetteville — Daniel Elijah Atherton died on Monday, March 25, 2019, at his apartment in Greensboro, N.C. He was 19 years old, and a student at N.C. A&T State University.
Born on October 5, 1999, in Texarkana, Texas, Daniel was the second child of Rick and Carolie Atherton. He grew up with his older sister, Emmalie, and his younger sister, Katie. Daniel was ferociously independent from beginning to end: wrestling his baby spoon from his mother's hand in order to feed himself, finding his own interests and hobbies, building his own high-powered gaming computer, setting his own plans for college and career. He was intellectually gifted; he learned to read from home lessons, before attending kindergarten - and he quit the lessons about two-thirds of the way through, because he had reading figured out by then. In school, he excelled in all his studies, but especially in math, winning top honors in local competitions. He joined Living Out Acts, an after-school apologetics and evangelism group, and participated in both their education and their outreach activities. He joined the debate team at his high school, and was noted for competing in every category of the county-wide matches. He skipped grades, and was attending college before he turned 17. He was talented in music, studying classical guitar, and performing at his high school. He was kind and polite, liked by his teachers and loved by his friends.
Daniel was baptized at First Lutheran Church, in Texarkana, Texas. He made public profession of his faith in Jesus Christ and was confirmed at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. Daniel is survived by his parents and two sisters, as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins. His memorial service will be at Christus Victor Lutheran Church on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., followed by the memorial service at 2 p.m., and then a reception.