Maxwell C. Atkins

Maxwell C. Atkins, age 21, of Jupiter, FL, passed away unexpectedly Monday, December 26, 2022. He was born on June 9, 2001, in Walnut Creek, CA; the son of Rodney Atkins of Jupiter, FL and Kelly Byrd (Atkins) of Boca Raton, FL.

Max grew up in Livermore, CA, Rocky River, OH and Jupiter, FL and graduated from Jupiter Community High School in 2020. He joined the United States Navy in 2021 and successfully completed Boot Camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago. Upon further training in Pensacola, Florida, Max became an Aviation Ordnanceman (AO) in charge of aircraft ammunition, packing guns, ammo, missiles and bombs onto F/A 18 E Super Hornet fighter jets and moving, lifting, storing and tracking weapons.

Max was stationed with the Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) “Tophatters” based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Lemoore, CA, attached to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier based in San Diego, CA. His first deployment was in early 2022 for seven months in the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea. Max was so excited about his new experiences on deployment, which included playing golf in Guam on the mountainous terrain by the ocean, beach-time and chilling with his buddies in Hawaii, and his highlight, exploring Tokyo, Japan and enjoying the vast cityscape at night. After deployment, Max proudly, repeatedly told us that AOs are “the hardest workers on the ship.” To that end, Max’s commanding officers spoke highly of him for always being on-time, doing an excellent job (which landed him on his preferred night shift with little supervision), helping others learn AO skills, and for being a well-liked, overall great sailor. His section chief also told us what we already knew, he was destined to go on and do great things in life.

Max inherited the music gene and loved to play acoustic and electric guitar. Starting out at a young age, he didn’t care for music lessons but in keeping with Max’s style and drive, he taught himself to play and went on to compose most of his own music. He was an avid gamer and loved to play with family and friends, staying connected with them in-person or online. Jupiter Beach was Max’s favorite place to chill-out. When he came home for visits, he went to Jupiter Beach as soon as he could without any thought about the hour drive north from Boca. Most of all, Max loved visiting his family in Columbus, OH. Having spent many summers there while growing up, his Columbus family became his second family, complete with the group of Westerville neighborhood kids who grew up alongside him. Close in age, Max and his cousins, Anthony and JV, were more like brothers…thick as thieves.

Max is survived by his loving mother, Kelly Byrd (Reuben, USMC); father, Rodney Atkins (Sara), and younger siblings, Gabrielle and Cash Atkins. He is also survived by his grandmother, Nancy Tallman Walkowski of Boca Raton, FL; grandfather, Vincent DeMarco (USAF) of Ostrander, OH; grandfather, Don Atkins (Arlene) of Moline, IL; uncle, Oscar Atkins (USAF) of Ostrander, OH; uncle, Tony DeMarco (Karen), and cousins, Anthony and John Vincent (JV) DeMarco of Westerville, OH.

Max is loved by the many other relatives around the country including cousins, great aunts, great uncles and those among Sara Atkins’ family, the Inglises of Westminster, MD and Reuben Byrd’s family of Suffolk, VA. Along with his grandmother, Mary DeMarco, Max is preceded in death by his great grandparents, Ben Tallman (USN Chaplain) and wife Betty. Max is also missed very much by his three fur babies, Arlo, Aggie and Walter.

Family and friends will be greeted from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Aycock-Riverside Funeral and Cremation Center, 1112 Military Trail, Jupiter, FL 33458 with a memorial service starting at 12:00 PM. Military honors will follow, performed in a Committal Service at Riverside Memorial Park, 19351 SE County Line Road, Tequesta, FL 33469. A Celebration of Max’s Life will follow the burial at Topside at the Beacon, 1107 Lighthouse Promenade, Jupiter, FL 33477 from 2:30-3:30 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in honor of Maxwell C. Atkins (AO-E3) to Max’s Musicians Charitable Fund - Checks payable to: The Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie, 851 SE Monterey Commons Blvd, Stuart, FL 34996 or to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society through the following link https://support.nmcrs.org/a/homepage

The service will be lived streamed. The links are below.

https://youtu.be/XRNfti9wsPo or https://youtu.be/eStaLhhyN-M