Lockerbie Victim’s Family Building Scholarship, Tracking New Trial
The Day, June 28, 2026
By Lee Howard, Day Business Editor
David Atkinson of Mystic, whose brother Gary died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in Scotland, is one of the few people in the world who has been able to follow the ins and outs of legal proceedings expected to culminate in a trial next month of a man accused in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history until 9/11.
He gets regular communications from the U.S. Department of Justice as the result of a law passed by Congress specifically for the families of Lockerbie victims, and has been able to listen in on some of the preliminary arguments, which have included whether the confession of accused bomber Abu Agila Masud, obtained while he was a prisoner in Libya, can be used in an American court of law.
"When it gets into the meat of the trial, I have the ability to go," Atkinson said. "I'd like to be there for some of it, but I don't necessarily want to be there for months. But I will probably listen to a fair amount of it."
At the same time, the Atkinson family and friends have been involved in a far more joyful experience by helping to launch the Gary Atkinson Imagine Scholarship Fund that just this month gave out its latest scholarships of $1,000 each to two Ledyard High School students. The tax-deductible scholarship fund currently has accumulated more than $100,000, and though currently it is limited to helping Ledyard students, the hope is that it could offer more support across the region as donations grow. Individual scholarships could potentially rise to $10,000 with enough contributions, organizers said.
"Enshrining and honoring Gary, hopefully in perpetuity, in the service of promoting and supporting demonstrated humanitarian individuals and leaders just feels like that's something that belongs in the world today," said family friend and scholarship fund president John Dunham, in an interview at The Day.
William Garretson "Gary" Atkinson III was returning to the United States in December 1988 with his new bride Judith "Judy" Bernstein Atkinson from a work assignment in South Kensington, London, to visit family when the plane they were in went down over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 onboard, plus 11 people on the ground.
The Atkinsons weren't the only local connection to the bombing. A Syracuse University student named Scott Marsh Cory of Old Lyme also died in the crash while returning from England for Christmas break. It still is the largest loss of life ever recorded in a terrorist attack in the United Kingdom.
But while the Corys were somewhat outspoken about the tragedy, the Atkinsons rarely talked about it publicly.
"My family was very private about it," David Atkinson said in an interview at The Day. "We really maintained a low profile. We all felt that was the thing to do."
A standout student at Ledyard High
Gary Atkinson, a young man his 1973 class voted Most Intellectual and Most Likely to Succeed at Ledyard High School and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had been working on one of the largest projects in the history of London, after previously being involved in similarly significant projects in Boston at the Meridien Hotel, One Post Office Square and the Boston Harbor Hotel.
Gary and Judy were married at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Memorial Day weekend 1988 in a beautiful ceremony framed by a gazebo on the water.
"He was a brilliant guy," said his brother Dave.
"And loved," added Dunham, the scholarship fund president. "Often brilliant people can be bookwormish and reserved, but Gary was very outgoing."
Though never an athlete, Gary was involved in a bevy of activities at Ledyard High, including the band, the thespian society and various projects to obtain Eagle Scout status. He was also class valedictorian, a member of the National Honor Society and Student Council president.
At the time of his death, the 33-year-old was a project manager for Olympia and York in London, working on the huge Canary Wharf development. One of his reasons for coming home was to carry on the family tradition of working on his dad's 300-acre Christmas tree farm, open only in December.
His wife Judy, 37 at the time of her death, was an art historian who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was considered a gifted scholar, earning a fellowship at Yale University and then entering a master's degree program in public and private management there.
Classmates originate scholarship fund
Long after the tragedy, as organizers of the Ledyard High Class of 1973 got together to discuss their upcoming 50th reunion, committee members were trying to decide on an organizing principle when they first thought of a scholarship fund and then realized it should be named after Gary Atkinson, their exceptional classmate who was loved by everyone and who died way too young. The 2023 reunion committee then got the blessing to go forward from Gary's two brothers, David as well as John Atkinson of Old Lyme.
"So the class started soliciting donations," said scholarship fund president Dunham, now living in California. "We held a silent auction as part of the reunion … raising around $5,000 or $7,000. … And we actually gave out our first scholarship in June of '23."
"That really speaks volumes about Gary that 50 years later, classmates say, 'Hey, let's do something to honor this guy," David Atkinson said. "It's one thing for a family member to say 'We should do something to honor Gary, he was a great guy.' Well, all these people are saying he was a great guy. So, to me, that's very touching."
By early 2024, the group had formed a 501(c)3 nonprofit, promising that 100% of donation dollars would be returned to students.
Last year, the first Greater Ledyard Open golf tournament was held, and this year another one is planned at Pequot Golf Course, with the hopes of raising $15,000 for the scholarship fund.
"The fact that so many people have stepped forward to contribute just kind of speaks to the community resonance," said Donahue, who has promised to devote five years to getting the scholarship fund off the ground.
This year's scholarships went to Ledyard High seniors Caitrin Cassidy and Porter Wisniewski. Cassidy was described as a selfless student committed to serving others through her involvement in Unified Sports and Unified Skills programs who is also the Ledyard Board of Education student representative. Wisniewski was a leader in the school music program as a member of the band and choir, and plans to pursue a career in welding. Each year, at least one trade school-bound senior is slated to get a scholarship.
The students both fit into the Gary Atkinson scholarship ideal of having "strong character, leadership, and community-mindedness."
To contribute to the fund, visit https://www.imaginescholarship.org/.
David Atkinson, a licensed architect, said he's happy that his brother's legacy will live on through the scholarship fund. His big regret, being six years younger than Gary, was never getting to share in each other's professional successes.
"We shared a lot in common," he said. "He was a good brother. He took care of me. He looked out for me."
A long road to justice
It's still hard for him to comprehend the enormity of what he and his family lost with the death of Gary, and the new trial of the Lockerbie bomb maker just brings those long-held emotions back to the surface.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was the only person ever convicted in the attack. He was found guilty of murder in a Scottish court in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison, only to be released on humanitarian grounds in 2009. He died three years later in Libya. Another person accused in the attack was acquitted of all charges.
Abu Agila Masud was charged in the bombing by U.S. authorities in December 2020 and brought to America for trial in 2022. In January 2024, Congress passed a law titled the "Remote Access to Court Proceedings for Victims of the 1988 Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 Over Lockerbie, Scotland" that allows family members like David Atkinson to get regular notifications about the status of the case and to have remote access to audio or video from the hearings.
"I have listened to a couple of the hearings," David said. "Unfortunately, as with most court proceedings, it's like watching paint dry."
Still, Atkinson hopes as the accused Lockerbie terrorist gets his expected eight to 10 weeks in court, interest in his brother Gary's story will grow more intense, giving added exposure to the scholarship fund in his name.
"I really want this to stay in the news," he said in a phone interview June 18. "It's a legacy to be proud of and a nice way to remember Gary."
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Reprinted with permission from The Day