William David Adkins Sr., age 74, of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, died on Monday, January 7, 2013, at his residence. Born on November 20, 1938 in Middlesboro, Kentucky, he was the son of the late Herbert T. Atkins and the late Rosetta Rowlette Atkins.

Mr. Adkins was a veteran of the U. S. Army and the U. S. Coast Guard (retired). He served in the U. S. Army during the cold war, stationed in Germany, where he worked in radio communications. He then joined the U. S. Coast Guard, where he was instrumental in the development and change of the communications systems from radio to computer. During his career, he was stationed in Galveston, Texas, Washington, DC, Mount Edgecombe, Alaska, and Sitka, Alaska. He developed a particular fondness for Alaska. He retired from the military as a Chief Petty Officer in October of 1980.

He and his family then moved to Lancaster, Virginia and then to Knoxville, Tennessee. While in Tennessee, he worked for Associated Laboratories Inc., conducting oil analyses on large machinery and performing radon testing. He retired as a maintenance contractor for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and Sports Corp., in Knoxville.

In 2006, he and his wife moved to Charlotte Hall, Maryland. Mr. Adkins liked to cook BBQ and gamble with his sister-in-law Connie. He never met a stranger, a piece of wood he could not work with or a fish he did not want to catch. He was rarely alone, always accompanied by his best friend and faithful border collie "Buddy".

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother James Edward Atkins; his sister Helen Ayers Gunderson.

He is survived by his loving wife Barbara; his children Helen Sisk and her husband Eddie, Wanda King and her husband Anthony, William David Jr., Robin Jones and her husband Ron, Yvonne Matthews and her husband Danny; his step-children Craig Crotts and his wife Wendy, Cindy Bryant, Kim Pinkard, Kelly Oliver and her husband Gary, Kristy Mc Andrew and her fiance Chuck Bowling; he is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

A gathering will be held on Friday, January 11, 2013 from 12Noon until 1PM with a Memorial Service beginning at 1PM at the Raymond Funeral Service, P.A., 5635 Washington Avenue, La Plata, MD 20646. Interment will be private. Honorary pallbearers are Justin Jones, Morgan Oliver, Victoria King, Chuck Bowling, Gary Oliver and Mike Payne.

The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to Amir Kahn, M.D. and the staff at the Cancer Care and Infusion Services at St. Mary's Hospital for their care and compassion during David's treatment.

The family would also like to thank Michael and Debbie Payne, Crystal Sparks (Chief Petty Officer - USCG - Retired), for their tremendous assistance with the Coast Guard.

Arrangements provided by Raymond Funeral Service.