Atkins, Lee Stewart Devoted son of Mary Lou Stewart and Marc S. Atkins, took his own life Friday, October 19 in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the age of 24. He was a proud soldier who served his country with bravery and distinction during a tour in Afghanistan in 2008-2009 as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard Bravo Company 1-178 Infantry. A graduate with honors of Oak Park River Forest High School and a history major at the University of Michigan, he was a wonderful, loving son and family member, and a deeply devoted friend. We will always celebrate his life - his caring, his generosity, his humor, his genuineness - as a legacy to all he touched in his too short life, and to all soldiers and their families wherever they serve. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 27 at the Unity Temple, 875 Lake St., Oak Park, IL, from 5:30 pm. The family requests that in lieu of flowers contributions be made in honor of Lee Atkins to the Wounded Warrior Project https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org or PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.
Published in Chicago Sun-Times on October 26, 2012
