Douglas Hugh Atkins

Atkins, Douglas (Doug) H. 83, of Sun City Center, FL, died July 23, 2025. Doug was born February 13, 1942 in Baltimore, MD. He grew up in Indianapolis where he attended Broad Ripple High School. He enrolled in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University where he graduated with honors.

His first job after college was with McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. In 1969 he took a job with Kaman Aerospace in Bloomfield, CT. Over a 34-year career at Kaman, he held various Director level positions over manufacturing, project management, and manufacturing operations in addition to industrial engineering.

He was never reluctant to volunteer. He was a long-time member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers serving as various chapter and regional officers. As a long-time resident of Ellington, CT, he volunteered for many years in coaching various recreational youth sports and also served as Chairman of the town’s Recreational Committee.

After retiring to Sun City Center in 2002, Doug continued to volunteer his time serving on the Security Patrol and the 11,000 resident community’s Projects Office. He served for many years as President of the Laurel Woods Property Owner’s Association. In addition to playing volleyball and serving as a fitness trainer, he took up playing duplicate bridge, a game he loved, achieving a rank of Golden Age Master with over 2500 master points.

In late 2017, Doug and Linda moved to Freedom Plaza (a continuous care retirement community) where he continued to volunteer including as Chairman of the Maintenance Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

Doug is survived by his beloved wife of 28 years, Linda, along with two sons from his previous marriage: Brent Atkins (Kristen) of Greenwich, CT, and Sean Atkins (Heather) of Arlington, VA, as well as five grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Freedom Plaza.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/donate.