Roberta Louise Perkins

Roberta Louise Fuson Perkins died Wednesday, 20 April 2016, in Aptos, California. She was 91 years of age. She had been a resident of Aegis Assisted Living Center for almost five years as a result of Alzheimer’s disease.

Roberta, or ‘Bobby’ as her family called her growing up, was the middle child of three daughters born to Wilbur Fuson and Esther Elizabeth Rorden Husbands. She was born 7 April 1925 in Petaluma, Sonoma County, California. Her early years were spent in Petaluma, California, where the family had a chicken ranch.

Roberta attended one of the first classes at the new nursing school at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California. She then graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in nursing as well as becoming a public health nurse.

She married Timothy ‘Tim’ Elliott Perkins in 1962 in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada. They had three children.

She was employed as a public health nurse in Kern County, California. She first worked in the Bakersfield area and later moved to Mojave, California, where she lived until 2010. She worked for Kern County for over 30 years. Upon retiring from the county, she contracted with Mojave Unified School District as a school nurse. She finally fully retired around the age of 80.

Roberta was always involved in the community. She was a Cub Scout, Girl Scout, Rainbow Girls, and PTA volunteer. Additionally, she served on the Mojave Community Medical Board and as the School Board President of the Mojave Unified School District. She volunteered with Little League, where she ran the snack shack for many years and earned the nickname ‘Scorekeeper.’ She also worked with the Circle M Riders horse group, where she helped to organize gymkhanas and ran the ‘bean shack.’ She volunteered with the Red Cross and later with AARP. She also selflessly helped many individuals in the community throughout her life.

In her later years, she attended the Four Square Church and First Baptist Church.

Roberta was preceded in death by her parents and step-father, Edwin Peter Baumann as well as her sisters Joanna Jeanette ‘Jan’ Fuson Millerick and Charlotte Marie Fuson Roush, and her husband Tim. She is survived by her three children: Charles Timothy Perkins (Sheila Mitchell) of Watsonville, California, Sarah Elizabeth Perkins Knack (John) of Spokane, Washington, and Susan Louise Perkins Hill (Todd) of Roseville, California; her grandchildren: Scott Perkins, Elizabeth Knack Riggin (Taylor), Christopher Knack, and David, Rachel, Daniel and Joshua Hill; and great-grandchildren: Teagan and Preston Riggin.

A marker will be placed at Liberty Cemetery, Petaluma, Sonoma County, California.