Dr. Leonard Atkins

Dr. Leonard Atkins, age 96, of Boston, on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Born in Newark, NJ, he was the beloved son of the late Abram and Martha (Saxe) Atkins. Dr. Atkins received his BS from Yale before answering the call to serve as a medic in the US Army, 6th Armored Division during WWII. Dr. Atkins landed in Omaha Beach in August of 1944 and fought in Brittany to the outskirts of Brest and crossed the Rhine to Germany. He was awarded the Silver Star by General Grohe for gallantry in action.

Dr. Atkins earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1950. He was a Medical Examiner for the State of Massachusetts, Suffolk County, for 44 years before a stroke forced his retirement in 2001. During that time he also taught Pathology at Harvard Medical School and served as a pathologist at MGH in Boston. His accomplishments included being the Director of Cytogenetics and Anotomic Units at MHG from 1960-1996, was certified in Clinical Pathology in 1955 and Forensic Pathology in 1959. He also received a Fellowship at the Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala Sweden from 1962-1963.

Dr. Atkins was the brother of the late Dr. Harold Atkins and the late Muriel Schneider. He is survived by his nieces and nephews; Laurel Dillon, Sam Schneider, Matthew Atkins, Michael Atkins and by his caregivers; Justine Nsubuga, Christine Namugenyi, Dr. Ivan Mwesigwa, Augustine Lukwango, Frederick Nsubuga, Andrew Kalungi and Ronald Jean.

A funeral service will be held at the Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard St., Brookline on Monday, April 29 at 2:00pm. A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, April 30 at the King Solomon Memorial Park, 550 Dwasline Rd., Clifton, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to a charity of your choice.