Dr. Carlton Manville Akins of Dover and Oak Bluffs, died at the Tippett House in Needham on June 9. Dr. Akins was the son of the late Dr. Willard Manville Akins and Lila Koivisto Akins. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Caroline (Bonnie) Bonnet Akins; his son, Jonas Peter Akins of Kent, Conn.; and his brother, Dr. Cary Willard Akins of Boston.
Dr. Akins was born in Eveleth, Minn., and raised in Red Wing, Minn. He was the valedictorian of Central High School in 1958 and graduated from Harvard College (cum laude) in 1962 and Harvard Medical School in 1966. After training for two years in Minnesota, at St. Paul-Ramsey Hospital and Hennepin Country General Hospital, he completed his training in the Harvard Combined Program in Orthopedic Surgery as the chief resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1972. After completing his training, he was selected as the first Edwin French Cave Travelling Fellow. From 1973 to 1974, he served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, Medical Corps, at Chelsea Naval Hospital.
In 1974 Dr. Akins joined the newly established University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and medical director of the self-insurance trust. Dr. Akins also worked at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton, where since 1984 he had been the chief of orthopedics. He was also a consultant to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital from 1981 to 1997, and since 1968 a consultant to the Department of Athletics at Harvard.
Dr. Akins was a member of numerous committees in Dover, most notably chair of the building committee for the transfer station, highway garage and Chickering School. He also served for 25 years as treasurer of the Dover Land Conversation Trust. Dr. Akins was a founding member of the Cloud Club and the Thomas B. Quigley Society for the Advancement of Sports Medicine. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Dedham Country and Polo Club, and Farm Neck Golf Club. In addition to shoveling snow, washing cars, and polishing shoes, he particularly enjoyed baking bread to give as Christmas presents.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m. at the Memorial Church, Harvard Yard in Cambridge. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Dr. Akins’s memory to the Massachusetts Hospital School, 3 Randolph street, Canton, MA 02021 or the Farm Neck Foundation, P.O. Box 1656, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. For directions or to share a memory of Dr. Akins, please visit eatonfuneralhomes.com
Comments (2)
Comments
Comment policy »