Alan James Atkinson

Alan James Atkinson, loving husband, amazing father, and proud “Papa” age 67, passed away after having a heart attack coupled with other medical complications. He passed away peacefully surrounded with deep love from his wife, son and daughter on August 30, 2021.

He is survived by his wife Lexine, daughter Angela, son Michael, grandkids Nathan, Zoey and Violet, as well as his daughter-in-law Heather and son-in-law Jared. Alan was a daily part of all his family members lives and will be missed more than words can ever say or measure.

Alan was born in Vancouver, Canada with a rare heart disease. His parents moved to Washington State to be close to cardiologists at Seattle Children’s Hospital and have access to the Mayo Clinic in the states. Later in life, in addition to heart issues, he developed a rare form of kidney disease which left Alan on kidney dialysis. His devoted wife of 43 years, Lexine took on the challenge of hemodialysis at home for over 8 years, ensuring Alan was able to meet his young grandchildren. Alan and Lexine were very appreciative of the care and support from Alan’s healthcare professionals and especially for the team at Northwest Kidney Center. They were successful at home dialysis and demonstrated Alan’s family perseverance as he always said “Atkinsons never give up!”

Alan was passionate about airplanes at a young age. He achieved his dreams at Boeing as an Aerospace Engineer. Highlights of his career include: becoming a Technical Fellow, leading a competitive analysis team coined CAPE, leading a small team to design a regional jet which earned a US Patent, and creating tops down analysis methods. He was recognized as a hard worker, team leader, and loyal with a strong work ethic. Alan had many friends and colleagues that he respected. He spoke fondly of many of his co-workers and appreciated their knowledge, expertise, support and friendship.

Alan was often considered a “work-a-holic” by his family. He was blessed to find a loving, devoted wife to manage all the other aspects of life so he could concentrate on his career. Alan led by example and always told his children to find something they loved for their career because you have to “get up and do it everyday.” Alan always said the best thing he and his wife ever “engineered” were their two children, Angela and Michael. Through his hard work with his career and the support of his wife they were able to give them a head start in life with their education, which he strongly valued.

Alan enjoyed family vacations to California at destinations like Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, and with his love for airplanes he included events such as the Miramar airshows. Every vacation had to include a hot tub, where Alan would always go in, stretch out and say his catch phrase “Ah…this is the life!” Alan always wanted to make sure on vacation they flew on a Boeing aircraft, “If it’s not Boeing, we’re not going.”

Alan had several hobbies and interests such as golfing with his son and grandson, racing slot cars, learning to cook, enjoying good food with good company, writing text books, and watching sci-fi and action movies or television. He was a big sports fan and liked watching golf, Formula 1 racing, and especially enjoyed the Seattle Seahawks. He played family board games and card games, Canasta and online Ticket to Ride being two of his favorites. Alan was a family man and the greatest joy of all was being able to hug his grandkids so they would never forget their Papa. Alan loved with all his heart and was loved wholeheartedly in return. Thanks Alan for everything, our lives will never be the same without you and are forever better for having known you.

In lieu of any flowers or gifts to the family, please consider making a donation in honor of Alan’s memory to Seattle Children’s Hospital Cardiology Department. Alan was a patient there as a child, as well his grandson. The link is below, you can select to donate to “other” and specify “Cardiology”.

https://www.seattlechildrens.org/giving/donate/

His family thanks you from the bottom of their heart for any and all donations made to help future children and families overcome hard times caused by medical issues.