Carl Rodney Perkins, Jr.

Carl “Rod” was born in Humble, Texas on August 25, 1934 to Carl Rodney Perkins, Sr. and Mary Agnes Davis. He grew up in Houston, where he worked part-time at his father’s drug store, Lindale Park Pharmacy. Upon graduating from Jefferson Davis High School, he attended Baylor University and then transferred to the University of Texas, where he majored in chemistry and was a member of the R.O.T.C.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from U.T., Rod deferred his military service by one year in order to work for Monsanto Chemical. In 1958, he married Marcy Lee Creed and soon afterwards he began his military career with the U.S. Air Force.

Shortly after joining the Air Force, Rod went back to school and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Washington. This launched Rod’s lifelong career as a meteorologist, which took him from the sunny Rio Grande Valley of Texas to the frozen tundra of Alaska. After his last Air Force posting in Columbus, Ohio, Rod joined the National Weather Service and settled in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rod’s eldest son Carl was born in Alaska and his younger son Bennett was born in Lake Charles.

Rod was a lifelong adventurer, outdoorsman, carpenter and family man. In Alaska, he hunted caribou and moose, near Fairbanks and in remote areas of the arctic circle that were only accessible by bush planes. In Louisiana, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, boating and water skiing, and he took the family on summer trips to Texas, Colorado, Arkansas and Alaska. Later in life, he traveled extensively with Marcy, from Canada and the western United States to the Caribbean islands.

Rod’s love for woodworking, which he learned from his father, extended from furniture making to home building. He did extensive renovations and expansions of the family home in Lake Charles, and built both a workshop building and detached garage. He was also a committed Christian, active at University United Methodist Church and later, St. Luke-Simpson United Methodist Church.

Rod was predeceased by his parents; two sisters, Mary Agnes Perkins Strickland and Corrine Jane Perkins Parks; and his wife Marcy Lee Creed Perkins. He is survived by his son Carl Allen Perkins of Houston, TX; son Bennett Lee Perkins and daughter-in-law Linda Wise Perkins of Greer, SC; granddaughter Jenna Marie Wise of Houston, TX; niece Anjanette Wimberly of Claremore, OK; niece Carissa Nevill of Tahoka, TX; niece Lisa Parks Vaughn of Decatur, TX; niece Sherri Heckendorn of Big Sandy, TX; nephews Jay Strickland of Houston, TX and Andrew Strickland of San Jose, CA; several great-nieces and great-nephews; and other extended family.