Claude Duke Perkins Jr.

He was born on November 17, 1935 in Richmond, Va., to the late Claude Duke Perkins and Mary Ann Swift Perkins of Apple Grove in Louisa County. He moved with his parents to Williamsburg in 1943, graduating from Matthew Whaley High School in 1953. He is a 1957 graduate of William & Mary, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Military Order of Scabbard and Blade.

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant from W&M ROTC, he entered on his 30-year military career serving in France, Germany, Turkey and Vietnam. His United States assignments included three tours at the Pentagon, one on the U.S. Army Staff and two in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Troop assignments included commands at the Platoon, Company, Battalion and Brigade levels, and as Commander in Iskenderun, Turkey, and the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, NJ.

A decorated military veteran, Col. Perkins was awarded numerous medals including the Meritorious Service Medal, two Bronze Stars and the Defense Superior Service Medal.

In 1958, he married Barbara Lynn Stanford of Altadena, Calif., also a 1958 graduate of William & Mary, and took her on his first troop assignment in then the Territory of Alaska. Together, they raised three sons, and, after retirement, moved to Toano.

He was a graduate of the Transportation Career Course, the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He earned a master’s from F.I.T. After retirement, he worked as a transportation and logistics consultant and later vice president of Virginia Woodcrafts, Inc.

A loving husband, father and grandfather, he is survived by his devoted wife of 66 years, Barbara L. Perkins; three sons and their wives, Claude D. Perkins III (Mary Ellen), Howard S. Perkins (Valerie) and John S. Perkins (Tracy); and four grandchildren, Jeffrey, Zachery, Melanie and Cora.

Following a viewing on Tuesday, June 3, from 5-7 p.m. at Nelsen Funeral Home in Williamsburg, Va., an interment with full military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. at a future date.

Memorial contributions can be made to the William & Mary ROTC.