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Buckingham supervisors started off their June 9 meeting with a tribute. They honored Nora Atkinson with a resolution, showing respect for the many ways she helped county residents and organizations during her life. 

Supervisor Paul Garrett had originally proposed the resolution, which had been unanimously approved during the group’s May meeting. Atkinson passed away back on May 5 at the age of 90, after a life of service. 

She was a founding member of the Toga Fire Department Auxiliary, part of the group that formed it back on Oct. 20, 1987. Atkinson helped support the fire department for more than 37 years in a variety of ways, from raising money to organizing events. Atkinson also worked for Buckingham Correctional Center part-time and performed as the pianist for Glory Baptist Church in Appomattox over several years.

But perhaps the way she’s best known is as the assistant voter registrar for Buckingham over multiple decades. She served under multiple registrars during that time, helping people understand how to sign up to vote, directing them to the right polling place and answering questions. 

“We just thought we would do this as appreciation for what she did for the county,” Garrett said in the June 9 meeting. 

The daughter of the late Arthur Love and Gertie Edmonds Seward, Atkinson was born April 7, 1935, in Brunswick. She leaves behind two sons, Elliott Atkinson and Allen Atkinson (Letha); a granddaughter, Maggie Campbell and son-in-law, Freddie Mowbray. 

The county’s resolution states that “the members of the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors do hereby recognize and express our deepest appreciation to Nora Seward Atkinson for her years of dedication and service to the Buckingham County community. We express our deepest condolences to her family and friends.”