Atkins, former head of Pilgrim Village, dies

BOSTON – Henry Hornblower Atkins, a former Newton school administrator and president of the re-created Pilgrim Village at Plimoth Plantation, died Sunday at his home in Brunswick, Maine. He was 78.

Atkins also was the father of Chester Atkins, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reported.

Born in Belmont, Atkins served in the Army during World War II and graduated from Yale University in 1946. He helped train businessmen for the reconstruction of Europe and in 1948 became a teacher in Newton. He later became a principal and assistant superintendent of programs.

After retiring in 1978, he became president of Plimoth Plantation, which had been created on property owned by his family.

He leaves a wife, four sons, three daughters, two brothers, 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at First Parish Unitarian Church in Concord.