11/10/2025
Honoring our Heritage: John J. Atkinson
John Jason Atkinson was born on April 21, 1926, in New York to John J. Atkinson I and his wife Edith. (John was John lIl.) He was raised in Flushing, New York, which is located in Queens. Following his graduation from high school, he was called upon to serve his nation and served a tour of duty with the US Navy as a medic during World War Il. After returning stateside, he enrolled at the University of Denver where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Arts and Sciences in June of 1950. The fall after he graduated, he was accepted by and entered law school at the university.
While a student at DU, he met Verna Hidy from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She was a year behind him, and they became well-known fixtures at school social events. He was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. In October of 1950, her senior year of college and his first year as a law student, she broke the news to her sorority sisters that they planned to be married the next June following her graduation. However, they decided they couldn't wait and married on March 8, 1951, instead.
After earning his law degree and passing his bar exam, John set up practice in the Farmers Union Building in Denver. In February of 1956, he became the second licensed customhouse broker in Denver giving him the ability to serve as an agent for importers in clearing merchandise through the customs office in the state courthouse. Three years later, he became a stockholder and member of the board of directors of the Denver area's first importing company specializing in building materials for large contractors. It was named the Associated Materials Company Incorporated (AMCI). In addition to the Denver offices, the AMCI also had offices in Milan, Italy, and Los Angeles, California.
In 1958, John and Varna moved to Broomfield as Broomfield Heights was still in its infancy. They were soon heavily involved in the life of the community, with her holding various political responsibilities and him an early president of the Rotary Club and also an active member of the Jaycees. As the hamlet began to grow, they turned to John because of his law degree and legal expertise to serve as the first justice of the peace, and for several years he presided over court twice a week in a spare room in his home.
During the 1950s and '60s, Broomfield was a popular place for U.S. military veterans to buy homes, especially with the programs instituted after World War II to help veterans purchase homes As a result, the area was rich in military lore. Several veterans gathered at a local restaurant to drink coffee and exchange stories. By 2000, they realized they had collected enough artifacts and stories to create a museum, and the idea was born. By the end of 2002, the six men had been granted a room in the former Mamie Doud Eisenhower Library building in Broomfield's Garden Center. The six men who founded the museum were Robert Davenport, retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army; Paul Murphy, U.S. Navy veteran and survivor of the USS Indianapolis; Robert Seeber, U.S. Navy Veteran; Vic Boccard, U.S. Marine veteran; John Atkinson, U.S. Navy veteran; and William Humphrey who was not a veteran but a former professor and lawyer who was very patriotic and who gave heavily to the project.
In the beginning, when it was first opened to the public in early 2003, it only occupied one room, but over time it grew to occupy the entire building. Today the museum houses nine rooms of exhibits, a library with over 2,500 history/military books and hundreds of archived videos of veteran interviews, and a multimedia room that seats over 40 people. The museum is free to the public and twice a month offers a presentation called Coffee and Conversation where you can hear fascinating stories from local veterans and historians. The exhibits are rotated on a regular basis.
During her retirement years, Verna spent countless hours volunteering at the Broomfield Depot Museum as well as the Broomfield Senior Center. She passed away on June 28, 2009, at the age of 80. John joined her in death on July 9, 2017, at the age of 91. They rest together in the Broomfield County Commons Cemetery.
