James Perkins

(November 19, 1926 – September 9, 2022)

Stanley James Perkins was born on November 19, 1926, in Northport, WA. He passed away in Cordova, TN where he had stayed with his youngest son, Mark, and his family. Before his stay there, he lived with his daughter Mary in Walla Walla, WA and his son Peter in Tucson, AZ after his wife Lucielle (Lucy), passed away on January 2, 2022.

James' parents were James Fredrick and Emma (Jacobsen) Perkins. His sisters, Virginia and Helene, preceded him in death. Helene's daughter, Maureen Foster, helped greatly with his care in his final years.

Lucy's sister, Delta, and James' father, Jim, played matchmaker for the couple. The story is that "Little Red Riding Hood" (Lucielle) got scooped up in the arms of the "Big Bad Wolf" (James), and after a period of time dating they eloped to Coeur d' Alene, ID, on April 11, 1953. On June 30, 1953, they were married at St. Patrick's Church in Walla Walla, WA, with Joseph and Patricia Kavanaugh as their witnesses. Their union of over 68 years produced eight children, two of whom preceded them in death: John (2018) and Miriam (2011). Their surviving children are Jim and his wife Penny (Colville, WA), Mary (Walla Walla, WA), Peter and his spouse Rick Yang (Tucson, AZ), Andrew and his wife Rachel (Ellensburg, WA), Helen (Woodburn, OR), Mark and his wife Shelley (Cordova, TN), and John's wife, Cathy Perkins. He leaves behind over 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

James grew up on his grandfather's (Peter Perkins) 80 acre Native American allotment on Kelly Hill in a log cabin that still exists there. The Great Depression was underway as he grew up and there was no running water or electricity in the cabin. James was a good student and was a member of the Student Council at Marcus High School. He read the dictionary from cover to cover by candlelight. He was very good at Scrabble and loved playing Pinochle. James loved growing up near all of his relatives. He learned to play Cribbage when he stayed summers with his Hallenius cousins. After his mother left in 1929, his grandmother, Amelia (Peone) Perkins helped his Dad and his sisters to raise him. Amelia spoke to him in English, French and Salish. He considered his father to be his best friend for all of his life.  He remembered fondly his childhood and running around with his first cousins, Ron Nelson and Don Callan, all over the Kelly Hill region. During World War II, he and his father performed migrant labor all over Eastern and Central Washington in the fall and summer months with jobs ranging from sewing up sacks of wheat outside Davenport to picking bushels of apples in Wenatchee. James graduated from Marcus High School in 1944 and went to Gonzaga University before enlisting in the US Army at the end of World War II. He rose to the rank of Technical Specialist 5 and was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA before returning to his studies.

James graduated from Gonzaga University in 1952 and started his Civil Engineering career with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Walla Walla, WA. James and Lucy first lived there on Walla Walla Street. His dad jokingly encouraged him to move as "he was tired of having to write so many Wallas on envelopes." From there they moved to Yankton, South Dakota where John and Jim were born. James worked on the construction of Gavins Point Dam. Next, they moved to Burbank, CA, where Mary was born. After getting sick of the smog in Los Angeles, they circled back to Walla Walla, where the last five children were born and raised. He provided structural design engineering work for all of the Snake River dams and some of the USACE Dams on the Columbia River. He was proud of his work designing fish ladders so that salmon could get past the dams. He also worked on flood control while on temporary duty in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1975. From 1978 - 81 and 1982 - 84 they lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. James worked on the design of the King Abdul Aziz Military Academy (KAMA) for the USACE. After selling their house in Walla Walla, WA, they moved to Spokane to take care of Mark and Shelley's children while they attended Gonzaga University. Finally, they moved to their home on Kelly Hill (overlooking Perkins Lake - named after his grandfather Peter) to enjoy their well-deserved retirement on the same allotment where he was born. They lived there for over 25 years.

James was an enrolled member of the (Arrow) Lakes (Sinixt) band of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. He was the oldest member of the Sinixt when he passed away. He remembered listening as a youth to the soft voices of his people speaking their native language at the annual ancestral Salmon fishing encampment at Kettle Falls. He attended mass at Pia Mission as a child and often visited the cemetery where his Great Grandfather, Dr. Fredrick William Perkins and his wife Ellen Marie (Edwards) Perkins are buried. Ellen was the daughter of Chief Ekitiminoos "Shadow Top" Edwards and Sipetsa "Able One" Edwards. Ellen's sister was Sophia "Green Blanket Feet" Antoine Edwards. James, Great-Great-Grandfather, Jacques "Jaco" Raphael Finlay built Spokane House in 1810 for the Northwest Fur Company. James enjoyed learning about family history and attending the annual Memorial Day functions that happen there. He and Lucielle's burial site are within feet of his father's final resting place.

James gave generously of his time and energy to teach Native American students how to do Math at Bancroft Learning Center in Spokane after his move from Walla Walla. Through his compassion, dedication, and example, he instilled in his children, a love of family, nature, reading, exercise, education and public service.  He often rode his bike to work in all kinds of weather; played volleyball and horseshoes at lunch; read with his children at night; and took his children on great nature adventures (fishing, camping and historical sites). James was an avid gardener. Every spring on Stuart Street in Walla Walla he planted a large garden containing at least one row of corn and red potatoes for each member of the family. He loved picking huckleberries and tobogganing in the Blue Mountains. He did both activities well into his 80's.