Danielle Neal Perkins, 84, of Grand Prairie, Texas died peacefully after a long illness on January 2, 2024. She was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 25, 1939 to Robert D. Harrison and Dora Perkins. She graduated Fair Park High School (Shreveport, LA) in 1957 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from LSU in 1961. Danielle and her young family lived in several states before settling down in Ohio for 11 years, where she claimed she learned to “talk like a Yankee.” Danielle returned to Shreveport in 1982 and lived there until moving to Grand Prairie, Texas in 2007.
Danielle’s life passion was genealogy. She did extensive work on her family lines before computers were available. She often volunteered to research the family background of anyone she met. During breaks in her research, she was sometimes accused of “genealogy stalking” acquaintances on-line.
She was a staunch advocate of higher education. Her children knew they would be attending college before they were out of diapers. It was not negotiable. She was blessed with a wicked sense of humor that usually arose at the most unexpected times. Some of her most famous sayings came out during difficult and stressful times. Most are too inappropriate to share here. This was a side usually reserved for family and extremely close friends. The levity she could bring to difficult times will be missed by all who knew her.
In addition to genealogy, Danielle also had passions for reading, writing and art. She was a member of Friends of Genealogy in Shreveport Louisiana for several years and often contributed to their quarterly journal. She would often help those in need even when she was not in the best position to do so.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert D. “Buddy” Harrison and Dora Mae Perkins; her brother Robert D. “Bob” Harrison of Fredericksburg, Virginia; one son, Patrick W. Rice of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; husband W. D. Rice of Chesapeake, Ohio; husband Stanton D. “Buddy” Neal of Greenwood, Louisiana; and husband John Perkins of LaGrange, Texas.
She is survived by three children; Michael Rice (Lisa) of Provo, Utah; Becky Rice of Grand Prairie, Texas; Charles Rice (Zaundra Ellis) of Richardson, Texas; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A visitation for Danielle will be held Saturday, January 20, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home & Park, 8801 Mansfield Road, Shreveport, Louisiana 71108, followed by a celebration of life at 2:00 PM.
Should friends desire, donations may be made to savethechildren.org or care.org.
