Frederick Myers "Fred" Perkins

He was born on the 7th of October 1928, in Tallahassee, Florida, spending his childhood years in Jacksonville, Florida. He often spent his summers with his grandparents Thomas Eugene Perkins and Marie Myers Perkins (Papaa and Mamaa) at Perkins Beach, Florida. It was at an early age that Papaa taught Fred how to fish and hunt small game in the coastal Florida area, outdoor passions that Fred kept up throughout his lifetime.

He graduated from Landon High School in Jacksonville in 1946 and was always eager to reconnect with alumni at reunions and other events. Immediately after graduation, at the age of 17, Fred joined the United States Army. He was ultimately stationed in Japan during the reconstruction period after the end of World War II. Like so many of the Greatest Generation, after discharge from the military, Fred used the GI Bill to attend the University of Florida where he earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering with honors. He was also accepted into three academic honor societies: Sigma Tau, Gamma Epsilon, and Phi Kappa Phi. Additionally, Fred became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. It was through a blind date that a fraternity friend set up that Fred first met Rosemary Ross. Fred and Rosemary married on the 21st of December 1950. They remained happily married until Rosemary’s passing in 2016, just weeks after their 65th wedding anniversary. Both Fred and Rosemary stayed active in University of Florida events throughout the decades and always watched their Gators play football.

In 1952, Fred began working for Humble Oil & Refining Company in the research department in Houston. After ten years working in production research, he moved into a Petroleum Economist position at Standard Oil of New Jersey’s corporate headquarters in New York City. During this first stint in New York, the family lived in Darien, Connecticut. Within a year, he was transferred back to Houston as an Area Engineer in Humble’s Production headquarters. In 1965, the family moved to New Orleans where Fred became Division Reservoir Engineer. After a short time in New Orleans, the family moved to Corpus Christi in 1966 where Fred was initially appointed Assistant Division Manager, and then full Division Manager in 1968. In 1970, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, where Fred was appointed Deputy Managing Director of Esso Australia Limited. The family moved back to Houston in 1972 when Fred was appointed Natural Gas General Manager for Exxon Company, U.S.A. In 1976, Fred became Vice-President of Production for Exxon, Company USA. In 1979, he was transferred back to corporate HQ in New York and served in several roles including Deputy Manager of Production, Vice President of Gas, and Vice President of Production. During this second New York assignment, the family lived in Darien, Connecticut again. Fred’s final transfer was back to Houston in 1986 when he became President of Exxon Production Research Company. During his time in research, Fred received three U.S. Patents.

Fred and Rosemary loved to travel and visited dozens of countries during their lifetimes. One specific purpose for their travels was genealogical research which took them to Salt Lake City, various places on the U.S. East Coast, and even to the United Kingdom. As a teenager, Rosemary began researching her family’s genealogy which piqued Fred’s interest in researching his own family roots. After decades of thorough research, both Fred and Rosemary traced parts of their family history back over 400 years. Both also documented their family history in books. In addition, Fred wrote an autobiography which his children will be publishing soon. If you are looking for the one thousand page version of this obituary, please speak to one of his children to get a copy of Fred’s autobiography. As travels abroad wound down in the 1980s, Fred bought a beach house close to home on Galveston Island. This nearby location allowed frequent weekend visits to relax, cook, fish and entertain friends and family.

Another interest shared by Fred and Rosemary was gardening. They were master gardeners and created gardens at several of their homes. Fred’s specialty was tomatoes, which he grew from seedlings. He was very particular and recorded the weight of each tomato he harvested. From fig trees to apples trees, butternut squash to string beans, Fred and Rosemary’s gardens yielded delicious fruits and vegetables. It was only natural, then, for gourmet cooking to emerge as another favorite hobby. Fred was an avid cook and was known for many culinary delights. He was probably best known for his salsa, jellies and jams, one of which won him an honorable mention at the Texas State Fair. Another area of specialty was cakes, pies and desserts. He shared his desserts generously at the Buckingham senior living community, which earned him a mention in the Houston Chronicle. Fred could prepare dishes across many genres including Cajun, Mexican, Italian and bar-b-que to name a few, always from scratch. Of course, with all these edible masterpieces, the obvious next step was hosting dinner parties and celebrations, which must have numbered in the hundreds over the decades. It seemed as if Fred and Rosemary were always cleaning up from, or preparing to host the next party. They were honored to be able to host family reunions in Connecticut, Houston, and Galveston over the years.

As house maintenance became more of a chore, Fred and Rosemary decided to move to the Buckingham senior living community in 2013. Always the patriots, they picked their second story, centrally located apartment based on the fact that it had an excellent view of the American Flag. They remained active in a variety of groups. After Rosemary passed in 2016, Fred explored many new activities at the Buckingham to occupy his time. He took lessons in voice and participated in the Buckingham choir where he was featured in two solo performances. He also joined an art group which exposed a true hidden talent. Despite having advanced macular degeneration, with assistance, Fred was able to complete over 50 acrylic paintings consisting primarily of landscapes and seascapes.

After suffering a stroke in 2017, the family hired caretakers to ensure he could maintain his active lifestyle in a healthy manner. His most recent caretakers included Yanique, Sabrina, Dionne, and Amanda. The family wishes to extent their heartfelt gratitude to these caretakers for watching over Fred twenty-four hours per day to ensure he was happy and healthy in his final years. The family especially thanks his caretaker Amanda for assisting Fred with various activities from cooking to social activities at the Buckingham all the way to his final day.

Fred and Rosemary were active in numerous charities and organizations throughout the places they lived including Boy Scouts of America, The Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way to name a few.

Frederick was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick Myers Perkins, Sr. and Nancy Turner Perkins; and his sister, Marie Perkins Lloyd. He is further preceded in death by his wife, Rosemary Ross Perkins. He is survived by his three children, Lucile Perkins Reed, wife of Tommy Reed of Star, Texas, Nancy Perkins of Austin County, Texas, and Matthew Myers Perkins and his wife Kim Aleah Perkins of The Woodlands. Fred is also survived by five grandchildren, Rosemary Reed Jones, Gene Frederick Reed, Travis Weldon Reed, Caroline Elizabeth Perkins and Jaxson Myers Perkins; five great-grandchildren, Sarah Lucile Jones, Tommy Alan Jones, Gene Frederick Reed, Robert Weldon Reed, and Abigail Grace Reed.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from four o’clock in the afternoon until six o’clock in the evening on Friday, the 4th of February, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A funeral service is to be conducted at half-past ten o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 5th of February, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons where Rev. Beth Case, Caring and Christian Formation Pastor, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, is to officiate.

At a later time, the family will gather for a private interment at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery.

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