Cover photo for Charles Rook Atkinson's Obituary
Charles Rook Atkinson Profile Photo
1930 Charles 2016

Charles Rook Atkinson

August 25, 1930 — August 10, 2016

Charles Rook Atkinson, Port Orchard, died August 10, 2016 at the age of 85. He was a loving and beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend.

Charlie, called Rook by his family and close friends, is survived by his wife Rosie, Port Orchard , and their six children, Nancy Doyle (Bill), Phyllis Counts (Dennis), Susan Mullins (Alvin), Richard Atkinson, Teri Girard, and Tom Atkinson (Sharon). Also surviving is a brother, DeMack Atkinson (Irene), sister-in-law Molly Atkinson, 12 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. “Uncle Rook” is also survived by several nephews and nieces who live in the area and have remained close to our family throughout our lives.

Born August 25, 1930 at home in Sheridan Heights, Bremerton, Washington, he was the last of ten children of DeMack and Susan Hardiman Atkinson, both deceased. Married to Rosalie Bruder in 1948, the couple made their home in Port Orchard for 57 of their 68 years of marriage. Charlie and Rosie were high school sweethearts when they graduated from Central Kitsap High School in Silverdale in 1948. As baby of the family, his older siblings helped Charlie and Rosie to establish a household for their children in Bremerton.

He began his work life at Duerden-McCloud Appliance before hiring on at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton where he worked in Shop 56 for five years, three years of which he spent in the PSNS Apprentice School where he earned an Associate Degree in coppersmithing, while they started their family in Bremerton. He was then recruited to Boeing in Seattle, where he worked as Seattle Services Division supervisor until he retired in 1991.

The family moved to Seattle in 1955. In 1959 they found a house on the beach in Harper, where they lived for the next 40 years, while Charlie commuted to work via the Southworth ferry. Their home in Harper was where they raised their six children, and the scene of beach parties, holiday celebrations, and close family life.

Charlie was a life member of the Port Orchard Yacht Club, where he served as Commodore in l972. He and Rosie started with an 18-foot power boat, the Honee Bee, followed by a 26-footer called Sandpiper, followed by their last and best boat, a 34-foot Ed Monk cabin cruiser they named Puget Rose. The family spent the next 40 years cruising Puget Sound and Canadian waters with other POYC members, many of whom became close friends.

After retirement, Charlie and Rosie added motor-home travel to their busy lifestyle. They used their first RV to travel around the USA, eventually reaching Louisiana, Tennessee and Chicago.
They also took shorter trips in Washington and Oregon, before beginning a regular journey as Snowbirds to southern Arizona to spend several months each winter. In 1999 they purchased a couple of lots in sunny Foothills, AZ, just east of Yuma, where they would park their RV during the winter and where they later planted a large modular home and built a garage. They made many new friends in the neighborhood and, as Charlie said, he could wear shorts year-round! They still spent summers in Washington State, but the beach house in Harper was exchanged for a large property in nearby Manchester. They spent a few summers living there in their RV before they placed a manufactured home and deck on the lot, and began living there year-round after deciding they no longer wanted to do the long drive between Yuma and Port Orchard. Their years of winter fun in the desert were complete.

Charlie loved his boats – sometimes Rosie questioned his loyalty to her over them! He also loved fishing, crabbing, clam-digging, and picking oysters from the beach. He liked to cook and was very good at it. His clam chowder set the standard for his children, who still make it the same way – and who always let it stand overnight to have the best flavor, as he did.

Charlie enjoyed doing things with and for his brothers and sisters, and his many friends and neighbors. He adored each of his grandchildren, who have many happy memories of Grandpa Charlie. He also had a love of dogs and cats, whether they belonged to him or not.

Charlie loved many kinds of music, with country-western being his favorite. His boat could be heard coming down the bay on a summer day with Willie Nelson or Don Ho blasting from the flybridge speakers. He was also a life-long whistler, which signaled he was happy and content when he was alone, whatever he was doing at the time. He also loved to sing. For the past year Charlie had been learning to play the harmonica. His teacher helped him learn the rudiments of the instrument that only required one hand and deep breathing to make music.

In October, 2007, Charlie suffered a major stroke, resulting in permanent partial paralysis and confinement to a wheelchair. The changes in his and Rosie’s life – physical, emotional, social, financial, familial – were profound. They first moved to an assisted living residence, but he required a higher level of care. For the past eight years he resided at Stafford Healthcare in Port Orchard where Rosie could live nearby and visit him every day. In typical Atkinson fashion, after a period of many hard adjustments, they succeeded in making the very best of a bad situation, and each continued in their old age to make each other happy.

He will be missed for the love and joy he added to all of our lives!

In lieu of flowers Charlie’s wish was to donate in his memory to:
Kitsap County Humane Society: http://www.kitsap-humane.org/donate or to
Franciscan Hospice House: https://chif.catholichealth.net/frf/donate
To order memorial trees in memory of Charles Rook Atkinson, please visit our tree store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Celebration of Life

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Starts at 11:00 am (Pacific time)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Photo Gallery

Guestbook

Visits: 0

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree

Send a Gift

Send a Gift