Lieutenant Colonel Richard Arnold Perkins

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Arnold Perkins, US Army, Retired, age 93, passed away Tuesday, May 12th in Sun City Center, Florida. Richard was born on July 27, 1921 in Washington, D.C. to Richard A Perkins and Mary G. Perkins of Charlottesville, Virginia. He grew up in Washington and Gordonsville, Virginia and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Business Administration in 1942 at which time he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. He served in the US Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, retiring in 1971 as a Lieutenant Colonel after 28 years of service. He then became a Director in the Parks and Recreation Department of Miami-Dade Country, retiring permanently to North Carolina in 1979 before moving to Vienna, Virginia and then to Sun City Center, Florida in 1995. Richard was a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America, The Disabled Veterans of America, and the American Legion, showing his devotion towards the military and his love for our country until his final days. As an avid sports fan, Richard enjoyed coaching both baseball and football to his sons and grandsons, developing their skills and guiding them to success throughout their childhood and into their adolescence. Richard was a mentor to those around him, a loving family member and a Christian. His life was full of happiness and sorrow, success and failure, war and adventure, and fear and hope, but he leaves us in a state of joy and contentment. He is survived by his wife, Shirley M. Perkins, daughter Mallory, son Randy, two stepsons, Greg and Jeff, 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife Jean, their three children; Bev, Glen and Sandra, all of Gordonsville, Virginia and his second wife, Peggy. Services will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at Sun City Center Funeral Home, Sun City Center, FL. He will then be buried with Honors, at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, 4899 Belfort Road, #300, Jacksonville, Florida 32256.