Rev. Ross Atkins

Rev. Ross Atkins, 94, of longtime Bartlesville and Dewey area resident and Church of God minister, died at 10:48 A.M. on Monday, August 21, 2017 at the Forrest Manor Nursing Home in Dewey. In keeping with Rev. Atkins wishes, private family services were held and cremation arrangements were under the direction of the Stumpff Funeral Home & Crematory. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial donations in Rev. Atkins name be made to the Dewey First Church of God, 222 S. Osage, Dewey, Oklahoma, 74029. Rev. Atkins was born at Gideon, Oklahoma (near Tahlequah) on August 29, 1922 the son of Charles Henry Atkins and Vernetta (Reynolds) Atkins. He grew up and received his education in Pryor, Oklahoma and then served in the United States Navy during World War II in the South Pacific for 31 straight months. Following his Honorable Discharge in 1945 he returned to Oklahoma where he was married to Eva Lucille Crow on December 31, 1945 at Pryor. They made their home in Pryor for ten years where Rev. Atkins was active as a meat cutter and became involved in the ministry. In 1956 Mr. and Mrs. Atkins moved to Vinita when he became the pastor of the First Church of God in Vinita. They moved to Sapulpa to pastor in 1961 and then moved to Dewey in 1963 when he became the pastor of the First Church of God in Dewey. Rev. Atkins remained at the Dewey First Church of God for 24 years until his retirement on August 16, 1987. He then served as an interim pastor in Muskogee for a year and returned to Bartlesville in 1988. At the urging of former church members, he began the Bartlesville Church of God in the Comanche Center where he was the pastor until he again retired after an additional 24 years. He was also employed as a funeral assistant at the Stumpff Funeral Home & Crematory for over ten years. Rev. Atkins is survived by his wife, Eva Atkins of Bartlesville, two daughters, Karen Ann Atkins Fouts of Decatur, Indiana and Melody Lynne Frakes of Bartlesville, four grandchildren, Jennifer Voegele, Amanda Pfeiffer, Tyler Frakes and Spencer Frakes and five great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, seven brothers and sisters, a son, James Glen Atkins and a grandson, Justin Glen Atkins.

Rev. Ross Atkins

August 29, 1922 - August 21, 2017