Austin Roberts Adkinson, 83, of Harrisonburg died Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007.

Mr. Adkinson was born Dec. 5, 1923, in Carrollton, Ky.

He retired in 1992 as Executive Director of LUPAC, the Life Underwriters Political Action Committee, which he helped found in 1970 for the National Association of Life Underwriters in Washington, D.C. He lived in Fairfax from 1970 until 2005, when he moved to Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg.

During his time as staff head of LUPAC, he helped it grow from its small beginning to consistent ranking among the top 10 such organizations for business and trade associations. His prior association experience was as information director from 1958 to 1970 for the Tennessee Municipal League, headquartered in Nashville and representing the state’s towns and cities. In that role, he edited the league’s monthly magazine, was a delegate to numerous national and area meetings of municipal officials, and served as a steering committee member for the National League of Cities. During his Nashville years, he was active in the Middle Tennessee Professional Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, the National Journalism Society, and served as its president in 1970.

Before his association career, Mr. Adkinson was a reporter and editor for the Associated Press, starting in the Columbia, S.C. bureau, then in Charlotte, N.C., and finally in Washington, D.C. Before joining the AP, he was an editor for the Fulton, Ky. Daily Leader and the Paris, Tenn. Post-Intelligencer. He graduated from Murray State Teachers College, now Murray State University, in Kentucky.

He married Nell Alexander in 1943. They were married for 59 years until her death in 2002.

Survivors include three children, William A. Adkinson of Mineral, Thomas L. Adkinson of Nashville, Tenn., and Susan A. Bosserman of McGaheysville, and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held 3 p.m. Sunday in the Meredith Chapel at Sunnyside with Chaplain Paul O’Gorek officiating.

Arrangements are by the Kyger Funeral Home in Elkton.