We received word from Pam Kylstra, Bob Atkins daughter, that Bob died at noon, Wednesday, February 10. He was 95.
Bob was the last living founding member of the United Church of Gainesville. He was a crucial part of the group that in 1964 put an ad in the Florida Alligator to see if anyone was interested in forming a liberal church in Gainesville. Fifty people showed up at the union. It was a time when neither schools nor churches in Gainesville were integrated. The Vietnam war was just beginning, and this small group wanted a church that was open to all people and willing to address the issues of race, peace, and social justice.
Once gathered they asked different denominations to consider accepting them. Bob had background in the United Church of Christ, and they welcomed this fledgling group and funded their beginning.
Bob and his first wife Chloe were the first moderators of UCG. And Bob was a key part of the committee that wrote the Compact.
Bob and Chloe raised their three children, John, Robert, Ainsley in the church.
When I was interviewed to be UCG’s second minister in the summer of 1973, Bob was on the search committee. He stood out with his kindness and his very searching questions, especially about God. In fact, when he asked me what I believed about God, I in turn asked each search committee member what they believed about God. That I was able to get the committee talking about God was enough for Bob. At that point he thought that I, at age 29, could handle the church.
When Sandy and I arrived in January of 1974, our moving van had brought only the last things we packed, non-essentials like China and winter clothes. Church members brought us casseroles and dinners. Bob, recently divorced, brought us a ham. The next week he took us out for a fantastic dinner at the Beef and Bottle.
On Christmas Eve, 1974, I performed the wedding of Bob and Pat Kylstra in the front room of the Presbyterian Student Center where UCG worshiped at the time. Pat brought her children, Pam and Eric, into Bob’s life, and they became his children as well.
Bob always had the church at the center of his life. His kindness was endless. At the same time, he was always questioning, always seeking. When the church was smaller, “Time for Sharing “was after the sermon, and it was an opportunity for open response to the sermon and service. Bob often came forward with a healthy and helpful “On the other hand” comment.
Bob and Pat hosted a foreign exchange student from Germany in the 1980’s. His name was Christoph Seubert. It was such a powerful experience for Christoph that he returned to UF for med school and stayed here.
He and his wife Charlotte also became part of Bob and Pat’s family. They even bought the house where Christoph had lived with Bob and Pat when the Atkins moved on.
Bob and Pat moved to Portland, Oregon to be near Pat’s extended family when Bob was in his late 80’s. They lived in a beautiful senior citizens’ high rise with an assisted living option available. In his 90’s Bob moved into the assisted living part to help him with his gradual slide into dementia.
I talked with Pat last spring and she said that even in his dementia, his kindness continued. If he met someone coming down the hall without a walker, he would offer his.
Many things can and will be said about Bob, but it’s simply time to remember him, his life, and his gift of the United Church of Gainesville. Without him, it would not be what it is today.
Pat Atkins
2545 SW Terwilliger Blvd. #934
Portland, Oregon 97201
971-409-7430