Bill Atkinson passed away April 21, 2026. He was with his dedicated wife and loved ones and in good care up to the end. He lived nearly 99 years through the depression of the 1930s and rationing during World War II in Oklahoma. His grandfather encouraged his children to pursue higher education, apply one's mind to teaching others, and to study science. Thus, Bill’s father was an engineer for the Bell telephone company when Bill was born. Bill showed an early gift for mathematics, science and music. His upbringing was grounded in resilience and practicality--supported by women in the family who cooked, sewed, read, and created stability during difficult economic times. The family hunted, fished, gardened, foraged, and passed down handmade quilts and crafts. His musical hobby began in 1941 when he was gifted a mandolin by his parents for an early Christmas present due to the sobering fact of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was drafted in 1946 after completing one year of college. His mind for abstract thought led to work on encrypting messages in the Army. Due to the need for scientists and engineers, he was able to return to college before the Korean War started. He continued studies in math and physics attending the University of Oklahoma where he earned his PhD. At university his family life began. He met his future wife, Crystal, at a picnic in Norman. She was a graduate student and treasurer of the Psy–Phi (Beta Kappa) Club at OU and he and his pals sang a witty song about Sigmund Freud that charmed her. They married in 1955 in New York, he having obtained a position as a staff scientist, and she a Masters in Psychology. They later returned to the West with a daughter and son. His scientific research thread led him to Boulder, Colorado to work on the atomic clock at the Bureau of Standards. He found a way to time travel, living in the rugged mountain community of Gold Hill while measuring discrete episodes of time at work. He made life long friends in both places. He built deep friendships through music, often hosting gatherings at his mountain home where he, his wife, and others joined in playing instruments as singing and dancing carried late into the night. His children delighted in dancing to their parents’ music, once riding a rocking horse so exuberantly that it broke in half. His science interests took him and his family to Sweden where he researched various physical phenomena including work that was published in Science in 1967 on “Charge Transfer Between Raindrops.” His musical interests led him to meet a Swedish fiddle player and he traded his car for a Nyckelharpa when he left. He brought his family back to Colorado and his wife began working. He then moved the family to Oklahoma to teach Physics at OU in the 1970s, for a program emphasizing higher education in science for women. Returning to Colorado in the 1980s, his wife's career as an executive assistant in the University of Colorado Journalism Department supported them through their early retirement years along with busking on the Pearl St. pedestrian mall and Mile High Flea market in Denver. He will be remembered and deeply missed by his family and friends for his warm hospitality, remarkable memory for lyrics and fiddle tunes, love of camping and fishing trips, practical knowledge of home maintenance, and his simple, down-home approach to living—care for your tools, make do, and make your own fun. He is survived by his beloved wife, Crystal; his son, Dean (Rebecca); his daughter, Eve (Omar); his grandchildren: Jonathan (Chan), Alison, Gabriel, and Natalie; his sister, Jane; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and close lifelong friends, Kris and Anita. He was preceded in death by his sister, Ruth, and his grandson-in-law, Barry. He is grateful for his caring friends and neighbors who supported him numerous times. He did not want a memorial, but we can keep the tradition alive by having a music get-together to share stories and sing ”keep those guitars picking, for better times are coming.” These arrangements will be announced later.