Richard Perkins

Richard Stanley Perkins left us August 1, 2016,  just two weeks before his 97th birthday. That he should have lived so long and so well came as no surprise to anyone who ever met him. Dick was a self-made man, always vital of mind and body. He approached life with vigor, setting a pace that left his family, friends and business associates in awe.  He is survived by his son, Randy (Pat) of Palouse, Washington and his daughter Michelle Owens (Steve) of Covington, Louisiana. He also leaves behind eight grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren and a widow, Mary Ferguson Perkins, plus five step-children and eleven step-grandchildren.  Dick was born on his grandfather Anderson’s homestead farm in Deary, Idaho. He received two educations: one at Palouse High which he attended 8 miles each way, via a horse, and one from the farm’s hired hands whose lessons were considerably less refined! Dick briefly attended Washington State University, but the sudden deaths of his mother first and then surrogate father Ben Seagle in separate car crashes three years apart, set Dick on his course as a farmer. In between these two tragic events he met and married the love of his life, Sylvia Decker, a farm girl from Nebraska. She was his match in vitality, ambition and smarts. Together they were a force destined for bigger things.  They had less than three years together, with their first baby (Randy), when World War II erupted and Dick immediately signed on with the Marines. He participated in the brutal battles which took place on the islands of the Pacific, surviving nearly four years before returning home to the farm. Soon after, Michelle was born, completing the family. For 32 years Dick and Sylvia successfully worked the wheat fields of Palouse, using their profits to invest in several business interests in the nearby town of Colfax, Washington. Eventually, with the kids grown and married and Dick hungry for bigger challenges, they left Palouse and spent the next couple of decades living in New Jersey, Texas and South Dakota. It was during this time that Dick made the unusual transition from farmer to stockbroker. With his relentless desire to succeed, Dick quickly excelled at this new venture and was soon the top producer for E.F. Hutton’s Austin, Texas office. He would hold this position as “top dog” not only in Austin, but in the firm itself, for many years before finally retiring. When he wasn’t working—which was rare—he enjoyed riding his motorcycle, woodworking and even Karate. He and Sylvia also traveled to many interesting places in his lifetime. From picking wild blackberries high in the Andes to standing in the highest tower of the Alcazar of Seville, he cherished his memories of grandeur and beauty. Dick and Sylvia chose Rapid City, South Dakota as their retirement home.  There they built their dream home on a hilltop surrounded by 52 acres. They lived there in bliss for many years until Sylvia’s health declined and they decided to move back to Covington, LA. to be near family, where she died after 67 years of marriage.  Through the years, Dick entertained everyone with his reciting of poetry and amazing stories about life, often laced with humor.  “It has been a long life, but it was never a dull one,” he once wrote. Dick was never a dull one, either, and he has left an indelible mark on the family that will not soon be forgotten.  This hero will soon be put to rest in Arlington Cemetery.