 |
Engineer, adventurer
Active and adventurous, 45-year Claremont resident Clarence “Ed” Perkins, Jr., led a life rich in travel, daring sports adventures and solid family fun. He explored the globe, rafted down rivers, raced sailboats and climbed mountains. In his later years, when rigorous challenges need be set aside, he enjoyed frequent senior bus trips to museums, to the theater, to many places of interest and pleasure. He wasn’t a big talker, said his wife, but, oh, was he doer.
On April 9, 2008, Mr. Perkins died at his Claremont home at the age of 75.
He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, where he was born to Clarence and Katherine Perkins in 1932. After high school graduation, he entered the military, serving in the US Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953. Though his entire unit deployed to Korea for engagement in the Korean War, Mr. Perkins remained in the US where he was needed on base in North Carolina as an air control tower operator.
“He was very lucky,” said his wife, Judy Perkins, whom he married in 1958, 6 months after they met.
Shortly after marriage, Mr. Perkins and his wife moved to California where he earned an electronic engineering degree at the Northrop Institute of Technology in Inglewood. Later, he completed a master’s degree at the University of Redlands.
Beginning work at General Dynamics in the early 60s prompted Mr. Perkins to move, along with his family, to Claremont in 1963. He also worked for Aerojet Electrosystems.
For 30 years, Mr. Perkins volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and was honored with the Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award. His wife recalled a challenging but fun time when she and Mr. Perkins took 20 teenage Explorer Scouts to Hawaii for a week.
Mr. Perkins was also a 29-year member of the Elks Lodge and belonged to the Fun After Fifty Club, the Marine Corps League, Pomona Trips and Tours and Pilgrim Congregational Church. It was primarily in retirement that he traveled to many parts of the world. And, in these later years, he also took up sailing and frequently participated in races at Dana Point. Always engaged in something exciting, most prized of all to Mr. Perkins was the time he spent with his family.
Mr. Perkins is survived by his wife of 50 years, Judy Perkins of Claremont; by his son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Mary Perkins of Upland; by his granddaughters, Kristina and Jennifer Perkins; and by his sister, Ruth Graham of Michigan. He was preceded in death by his son, James Edward Perkins, in 1978; and by his sister, Doris Harper, and his brother, Bill Perkins.
A memorial service was held yesterday, April 18, 2008, at Pilgrim Congregational Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Boy Scouts of America, San Gabriel Council, Attention: “Camperships,” 3450 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107; or Pilgrim Congregational Church, Attention: Bell Tower Fund, 600 N. Garey Ave., Pomona, CA 91767; or to a charity of one’s choice.
