BENTON -- Arthur Eugene Akins, 83, passed away April 8, 2014. He was born in Benton to Arthur A. and Lula (Jones) Akins. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Patricia (Johnson), whom he loved and appreciated dearly. They met while Arthur was stationed in Patricia's hometown, Peoria, and married on her parents' farm in 1957. He is also survived by his sisters, Elizabeth "Betty" Hammond and Shirley Jones, both of Benton; as well as his loving daughters Deborah Gibson, Charlene Sarver, Angela Brewer, and Joy Akins. He will also be missed by his sons-in-law, Mike Gibson, Ed Sarver, Dan Brewer and Steve Buttitta. He was a proud grandpa to his surviving eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. As a boy he loved swimming, fishing, drawing, and shooting pool. Following Benton High School, Arthur joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 17 after drinking many strawberry milk shakes to meet the minimum weight requirement. He was a veteran of the Korean War and retired after 23 years of honorable service. At the age of 46, he earned his bachelor of science in biomedical electronics from SIU Carbondale. He later explained a reason for his going to college was to set an example demonstrating the importance of education to his daughters. Arthur enjoyed working as a biomedical technician at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon until his second retirement. Throughout his life he was happy handing out half dollars to kids, playing cards, working on puzzles, and reading. He was a longtime member of the American Legion, Masonic Lodge, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Eagles and Elks. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, April 11, in Morton and Johnston Funeral Home in Benton. Burial will be in Masonic and Oddfellows Cemetery in Benton. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Published in The Southern Illinoisan on Apr. 10, 2014