Music was always an important part of the Atkinson home. “My mother played the piano,” says son Charles. “I also remember that my dad enjoyed singing and his father played the violin. Going to concerts was a regular part of their lives.”

With that background it is not surprising that F.E. Atkinson included a major gift to the NMSU Department of Music in his will. Atkinson passed away in June 2007 at the age of 97. Music department head Ken Van Winkle says, “The F.E. and Edith Atkinson gift is the most significant and largest contribution ever received by the New Mexico State University Music Department.”

Plans are in place to name the recital hall in the music building for F.E. and his wife, Edith. That ceremony will be held Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

“My parents would be so pleased that the concert hall is being named in their honor,” says Charles. “As the interface between the NMSU teaching and rehearsal studios and the concert-going public, the concert hall is a beautiful reflection of the importance that teaching and music held in their own lives.”

F.E. Atkinson grew up in the small town of Lovelady, Texas, north of Houston. An associate’s degree from Rust College started him on his career in education. At the age of 19, he was named high school principal, coach and seventh-grade teacher in Weldon, Texas. He held similar positions in several Texas towns and then moved to Carlsbad, N.M., in 1941 to serve as field executive for the Boy Scouts. With time out for military service, he served the Scouts until 1946.

In 1937 he met Edith Dodge, who was teaching first grade in Sealy, Texas. They married in 1940 and had two sons, Charles and Richard. Charles is now a professor of musicology at Ohio State University and Richard is retired from the State of New Mexico Human Services Department.

The Atkinson family came to Las Cruces in 1954 when F.E. accepted the position of Director of Instruction with the Las Cruces Public Schools. He held that until retirement in 1973. Edith taught first grade at Central Elementary School until 1977.

Choral director Jerry Ann Alt says, “We told Mr. Atkinson that his gift was going to completely change the music department. We are already seeing signs of that change.”

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The NMSU Foundation receives and manages all gift money for New Mexico State University.

For information about how you can create your own special memory at NMSU, visit giving.nmsu.edu or contact the NMSU Foundation at (575) 646-1611 or (800) 342-6678.

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