THOMAS PERKINS

PERKINS--Thomas Peirce III.

Thomas Peirce Perkins III, husband of Sarah M. Brown, died on December 31 at the Goodman Brown Hospice in New York. He was 82. Born in Baltimore in 1935, Tom graduated from Yale College and Harvard Law School, and had a distinguished legal career at Venable LLP in Baltimore, where he was a partner for 35 years. Tom was proudest, however, of his public service. He served as treasurer of the founding Board of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, as trustee of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library and Bryn Mawr and Gilman schools, and as treasurer and fundraiser for numerous Maryland political campaigns, including Maryland Attorney General Stephen Sachs. In New York, he served as a trustee of Amor Artis and University Settlement. In addition to his passion for Beethoven, Bach, and the Baltimore Orioles, Tom cherished his connection with the Yale Class of 1957, and served as Class Secretary, in a wide range of fundraising roles, and as a founding member of the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Project, which supports music education for public school students. An alcoholic, Tom became sober at age 50 and through the help of Alcoholics Anonymous never had a drink the rest of his life. His defining traits were integrity, hard work, a quick intelligence, and an irreverent wit. In addition to his wife Sarah, Tom leaves behind daughters Anne G. Perkins of Boston and Virginia M. Perkins of Baltimore and five grandchildren. Tom is also remembered by his first wife, Anne S. Perkins of Baltimore, and by the children and grandchildren of Sarah Brown. He was predeceased by his sisters Margaret Perkins Brewster and Georgia Perkins Ashforth, his second wife Harriet Granet, and his son Robert Rennert Perkins. A memorial service will be held at the Lady Chapel, Cathedral of Mary our Queen, 5200 N. Charles Street, Baltimore on January 20 at noon, with a reception to follow in the parish hall. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, a fitting tribute would be a donation to the Class of 1957 Music in Schools Project www.musicinschools.org