Ralph Lee Atkins Jr.

It is with deepest sadness that our family announces the passing of Ralph Lee Atkins, Jr., beloved husband, son, father, and grandfather. Mr. Atkins passed peacefully at home early afternoon on Sunday, March 16th, in the company of family and loved ones. The Holy Sacrament of Last Rites were given by family priest Monsignor Warren Wall.

Mr. Atkins, a life-long resident of Mobile, was a 1961 graduate of Theodore High School and 1965 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. A larger-than-life character, “Rotten Ralph” was an institution in the Alabama seafood industry through the Atkins’ family business Southern Fish & Oyster Co.

Ralph Jr. inherited the trade from his father, Ralph Lee Atkins Sr., and passed along the family business to beloved son and “homie” Ralph Lee “Tripp” Atkins, III. Ralph Jr. dedicated his life to building and bettering the seafood industry for the entire Alabama Gulf Coast through his work with the Alabama Seafood Association, Southeastern Fisheries, as chairman of the Seafood Task Force, and through his work with Governor Robert Bentley’s Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission.

Most importantly, Ralph Jr. was a devoted son, husband, father, and grandfather. He is predeceased by his father, Ralph Sr., mother Dottie Jones Atkins, and sister Joan Atkins Sivley. Ralph Jr. is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Carolyn Pope Atkins, daughter Candice Atkins Pugh, son-in-law Brian Pugh, and son Ralph Lee “Tripp” Atkins, III. He was a beloved “Papa” to grandsons Thomas Atkins Pugh and John Briggs Pugh. Ralph Jr. will be deeply missed by all family, friends, and those he impacted through his hard work, humor, and seafood.

Visitation for family and friends followed by graveside service will be held on Thursday, March 20th, at 1:00pm, at Pine Crest Funeral Home & Cemetery on Dauphin Island Parkway. The family would like to thank Enhabit Hospice for their attentive care and compassion during Ralph Jr.’s final months with us. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to Mobile Fire Department Fire Station #19 in honor of their diligent service to our family (sent to 1275 Azalea Road, Mobile, AL 36693).