Earl Louis Perkins

Obituary

Earl Louis Perkins of Los Angeles, California was born on July 13, 1923, in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He died peacefully on that same day, eighty-two years later, surrounded by those who loved him most. He was raised in Grand Forks by a large and loving, extended family. He attended the University of North Dakota until he enlisted in the Army Air Corp where he served as a navigator in Europe during WWII. After the war, he graduated from UND, and in 1948, moved to Midland, Texas as a geologist for Argo Oil Company. He married Dene Richardson in 1953, and they had two children, Corby and Marc. "Perk' moved his family to Odessa in 1963, and built a thriving service station business before returning to the oil field as a consultant. After his retirement, Perk and Dene built a home at Canyon Lake, Texas where their children and grandchildren enjoyed many happy summers. Perk and Dene moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to be near those children and grandchildren. Perk was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He worked hard and played harder. He could build a house, rebuild an engine, grill a perfect steak, and teach a toddler to swim. He loved bridge, poker with the boys at Orla, gin rummy, practical jokes involving chupacabras, old friends and new ones, family trips to North Dakota and feeding the fish at Lake of the Woods, searching for Mary Whitefeather, ice-cold margaritas, hunting for arrowheads, a meal anytime of the day at Eva's Caf¨, Sunday afternoons by the pool, anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs or Ayn Rand, gladiator movies, ribald stories, Trivial Pursuits, Scrabble, and good opera. He spent many happy summers hiking to the "dirty beach' with his grandchildren and sharing their zest for exploration. He was a scholar and a gentleman, and he knew every drinking song in the English language. His spelling was abysmal, but he was a relentless and pedagoguish grammarian, different from any other. He loved dogs, cats, feeding corn to his deer, and The Last of the Mohicans. He was proud of his North Dakota heritage, but delighted in satirizing his home state: he taught us all that the state flower of North Dakota was mildew, and that the state tree was the telephone pole. We continue to chant "Why not, Minot?' On those rare occasions when it actually snowed in Texas, Perk would observe that it was "just like a letter from home.' He could point out an incise meander, a mammoth tusk, a meteor shower, or a good Galliano with equal aplomb. Perk always understood that our lives are not measured by the number of breaths that we take - but by the moments that take our breath away. He created a lifetime of these moments for us all. A celebration of his life is planned for November 26, 2005 in Midland. Togas optional. For more information please email Corby Baumgarten at: cbaumgarten@speakeasy.net