Charles E. Atkins Jr., 86, of Belpre, Ohio, died Oct. 20, 2012, at his residence.
He was born in Ironton, Ohio on March 11, 1926, and was the son of the late Charles E. Sr. and Essie A. Caines Atkins.
He was a member of Rockland United Methodist Church and retired from Scots Lumber Company, and was a member of Teamster Local 75. He made his first bluegrass album when he was 17 and played with many bluegrass bands, his last being the Briary Mountian Boys, with whom he played for 25-30 years. He loved to travel with his family.
Survivors include his wife, Betty A. Nicholson Atkins; two daughters, Charlotte I. Bell of Belpre and Rashelle D. Atkins of Vienna, W.Va.; three grandchildren, Donna R. Atkins of Phoenix, Ariz., Joann Good of Ripley, W.Va., and Ashley Bell of Parkersburg; a grandson, Charles Garvey of Belpre; four great-grandchildren, Wyatt D. and Cameron M. McKimmie and Emmerson and Tristen Jimenez-Atkins; and a sister, Marie Becker of Warren, Ohio.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and a sister, Leona Ritchie.
Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Leavitt Funeral Home, Belpre, with the Rev. Jim Condray officiating. Burial will follow in Rockland Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday.
Memorials in memory of Charles may be made to Rockland United Methodist Church.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.leavittfuneralhome.com
