Wilbur Earl Atkins

WILBUR EARL ATKINS Graveside inurnment service for longtime Cortez resident Wilbur Earl Atkins will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 6 at Cortez Cemetery. Wilbur was born December 23, 1930 in Fowler, Colo. the son of Roy Alden and Lillie (Krause) Atkins. He passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington at the age of 85. Wilbur grew up on the family farm near Olney Springs, Colo. Later, he went to Alaska in 1950. Wilbur enlisted in the United States Army and served his country from 1952 to 1954. After his time in the service, Wilbur returned to Alaska and lived there until 1991 when he moved to Cortez. He married Mary Ellen Deal in 1955. Surviving Wilbur are his children, Ronald Atkins (Kathleen) of New Caney, Tex., Beth Gatewood of Fort Collins, Colo., and Earl Atkins of Anchorage, Alaska; six grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren; and by his siblings, Peggy Williams of Rocky Ford, Colo. and Mabel Gramer of Colorado Springs, Colo. Wilbur was preceded in death by his parents; by his wife Mary Atkins in 1994; and by his sister, Gladys Schubert.