Miles Craig Akins

On February 3, 2022, surrounded by the love of his family, Miles Craig Akins (“Craig” – age 70), succumbed to his 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer and went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Originally from Gadsden, Alabama, Craig was the son of Grady Ward Akins and Mary Hill Akins, who both preceded him in death. As a graduate of Auburn University (BA) and Duke University (MBA), Craig was an ardent fan of college sports. He was also a lifelong golfer; never stopping trying to learn the game he loved.

A gentleman with a generous heart, he was clever and witty, rarely at a loss for words. He was comfortable speaking in front of a room full of colleagues or strangers, but could just as easily bring a smile to the face of a child. Driven and ambitious, Craig gained the respect of his supervisors, peers and customers by his integrity and business acumen. He invariably returned home from a business trip with the latest volumes on sales techniques or business theories. He was an idea man who was always trying to come up with new ways to increase sales or efficiency. There is even a patent in his name on a shelf system designed to reduce out-of-stocks.

After graduating from Auburn in 1974, Craig began his career in Sales and Marketing with George A. Hormel & Company in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1980, he joined a training program with The Coca Cola Company after which he was assigned as a Field Marketing Rep to the Baltimore/Eastern Maryland area. In 1985, after having been promoted and transferred to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then to Fairfax, Virginia, Craig left The Coca Cola Company to join the Nashville, Tennessee branch of Coca Cola Bottling Company Consolidated. Hired as a Key Account Manager, Craig soon rose to serve as Nashville Branch Manager, then Tennessee Division Manager, then Regional Vice-President of the Northwest Region. In 1993, he moved to their corporate offices in Charlotte, North Carolina to head the Cold Drink Division and was later promoted to Executive Vice-President of Sales for all of CCBCC. After leaving CCBCC in 2001, Craig was employed as VP of Sales for Portola Packaging and later as a National Account Manager for Display Technologies.

As successful as he was in his career, Craig was most gratified by mentoring those who worked with him and for him. After moving to Williamsburg in 2007, Craig became involved with the William & Mary Raymond A. Mason School of Business and their Executive Partners program (a mentoring program for students of their MBA programs). Later Craig expanded his involvement with the school by becoming an adjunct professor in their online MBA program.

Craig is survived by his wife of 41 years, Karen Eareckson Akins; his children, Jamie A. Sawyer (Andrew) of Richmond, Virginia, and Mark W. Akins (Corey) of Charlotte, North Carolina; and a granddaughter, Zoey Sawyer (who lovingly called him “Diyo”, a toddler’s version of “daddio.”) He was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Kinsley Akins. He is also survived by siblings, Bruce Akins (Betsy), Donna Hagedorn, and David Akins (Linda) all of Gadsden, Alabama; and by numerous nieces and nephews and their children, all of whom joyfully participated in childhood games of chase-around with Uncle Craig.

The family would like to thank Dr. John Miller and the nurses and staff at Peninsula Cancer Institute in Williamsburg and Teresa McGee of Riverside Hospice for their loving care.

A visitation will be held Friday, February 11th, 2022 at 11:30am, with a service to follow at 12:30pm at Nelsen Funeral Home, Williamsburg.

Memorial charitable gifts may be made to the Craig Akins Scholarship Endowment (5057) at William & Mary (William & Mary Gift Accounting, PO Box 1693, Williamsburg, VA 23187) which helps ensure that William & Mary Business School students can afford textbooks and other course materials, or to a charity of your choice.