Maxine Ruth Sweeney Atkinson , September 02, 1936 — June 30, 2018

Maxine Ruth Atkinson, Aged 81, went to be with our Lord, Saturday, June 30, 2018. She passed away peacefully at Christian Rest Home after a very long, heartbreaking battle with dementia. She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Louis Howard Atkinson and grandson, John Louis Simmons.

She is survived by her children, Dale (Vicki) Atkinson of Grand Rapids, Linda (Tom) Firme of Grand Rapids, Cheryl (Bill) Witte of Grand Rapids and Pamela Simmons, also of Grand Rapids. She is also survived by her 10 grandchildren, Jessica, Jeremy, Chrissy, Stacy, Michael, Tony, Eric, Laura, Steven and Nicole. Maxine is also survived by her sister Deloris (Charlie) Stevens of Garden City, Kansas.

Maxine was born September 2, 1936 as Maxine Ruth Sweeney. She was a very hard worker all her life. She started working as a nursing aide at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids at a very young age.

She then took a few years off, as she married in 1954. In 1955 she had her first child, her second child in 1956, her third child in 1958 and last child in 1960. She left work to care for her four children.

From 1962 through 2009 she went back to work in furniture factories throughout Grand Rapids such as Waddell and Brower Furniture. She did this for many years to come. From there she went to work for Grand Rapids Building Services as a supervisor in housekeeping for the City Hall in Grand Rapids.

Her last few years she worked for Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital as a housekeeper retiring from there at the age of 71, Two months later she was diagnosed with dementia with which she struggled the last ten years of her life. She was a woman who cared deeply for her family. She would always put the needs of others above her own and would give the shirt off her back to anyone.

She deeply touched the lives of all who knew her. She was a very caring and loving woman with the biggest heart of anyone her family has ever known. Her children say that they never had a whole lot of money growing up, but all the love and closeness that they felt as a family was worth more than all the money in this world.

She will sadly be missed by all. In loving memory of our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. It is requested that memorial contributions be made to Faith Hospice Care.

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