Charles McDonald (Mac) Atkinson
May 26, 1923 – Oct 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 to Arthur Atkinson (born in Leeds, England) and Clara Atkinson (nee Waddell born in Moffat, Scotland). He moved with his family which included his older brother Bill, to the Pengarth District in Saskatchewan where his parents had met and his mother’s extended family were. Due to the depression and uneconomic farm life, they chose to move to Abbotsford, British Columbia when Mac was 9 yrs old. Mac spent his youth in Abbotsford and graduated from High School in 1941. Following his graduation, Mac joined the Navy instead of the Air Force to respect his parent’s wishes, since his brother was killed while navigating a plane in March of 1942. In the Navy Mac trained in Vancouver and Ontario before going to St Hyacinthe Quebec for signalman training. He then went east up the St Lawrence to Halifax and then onto Newfoundland before heading to Scotland for active duty in the North Atlantic. He served on convoy duty until the end of the war and was discharged on Nov 12th, 1945.
Following the war, Mac went to UBC and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1949 just a week before his marriage to Dorothy Mallett, his wife of 63 years. They met at BC Electric in Vancouver where they both worked. They first lived in Vancouver and then in North Vancouver where their daughter Pam was born. Mac worked for GMAC and then Seaboard Finance before moving to Nanaimo in 1964, where he was a credit manager at the Nanaimo and District Credit Union. He subsequently worked for a law firm and completed his work career as a Real Estate Appraiser for Vancouver Island Appraisals.
Mac was a long time 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. He 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. He played bridge and tennis with friends weekly up until this past month before he was hospitalized. Mac loved his garden and was giving out beans and tomatoes the day he went into hospital. He was good to his daughter and grandchildren and loved his son-in-law like a son. 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, and 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.
Arrangements by First Memorial Funeral Services. 250.754.8333