Richard (Dick) Wendell Perkins 1926-2016

Richard Wendell Perkins was born October 5, 1926 to William Wendell Perkins and Jessie Pierce.  He was second oldest of four children. His schooling began with elementary and junior high in Smithfield, Utah. Richard graduated from Smithfield High School and enlisted in the US Navy in the spring of 1944.  He attended Utah State Agricultural College in Logan, Utah in September of 1944 where he awaited his call. 

Three weeks into the term, Richard was called to active duty, as a radar and sonar operator. His unit was positioned off the shores of Japan, waiting for the invasion, when the war ended. Richard served a total of 21 months. After he was honorably discharged, he returned to Utah State to continue his education. During his studies, Richard took a 6-month break to teach Chemistry, Physics and Seminar Science at Preston High School in Preston, Idaho.               

In 1948 he met the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Billie Faye Shaw. They married August 31, 1949 for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple.  He built a one-bedroom home in Smithfield, UT where their first child was born. Employed as a chemist at the Cache Valley Cheese Factory, he worked full-time while attending school full-time until graduation.  Richard earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry in 1950 and a Master’s Degree in Organic Chemistry in August 1952.

Richard was recruited by General Electric to work on the Hanford Project in Richland, WA.  The family arrived in Richland on August 10, 1952 and were assigned to live in a government-built two-bedroom prefab in Richland. 

While at GE, Richard immediately recognized the need for more sensitive methods for measuring radioactive elements without chemical separation. His work in developing radiochemical separation processes for plutonium and many fission and activation products led to the development of multi-coincidence gamma-ray spectrometers.  These instruments and later versions of them are still used today to measure many of the radioactive elements in our environment that effect our health and safety. 

Over the years, Dick and his associates developed many other instruments that are used for specific measurements in nuclear science.  His work and research has been featured in hundreds of reports, scientific journals and periodicals throughout the world.  One of the non-classified highlights of his career was when he was selected by NASA to be one of the principal investigators analyzing the lunar samples collected during the six Apollo missions. He helped analyze nearly a third of all the lunar material collected.  He felt this was a great honor to study and age-date materials from another solar body. 

In 1964 he had the honor to present these technological developments at the International Atomic Energy Commission in Austria. Over the next several years, he presented reports at dozens of technical meetings both in the US and overseas.  Recognizing that trace quantities of radioactivity were present but not detectable in our atmosphere, animals, soil, vegetation, water, rivers, and fish, etc., Richard pursued methods for their practical measurement.  Information from these efforts was used by the Hanford Dose Reconstruction Program to estimate radiation exposure from the Hanford Project Operations. He felt great pride in helping to change the world through the technology he developed both in peace time and in defense of our country.

Richard continued this work when the contract to administer a national lab was awarded to Battelle.  He retired from Battelle November of 1992, but continued to work full-time as a consultant until 1994 when he was rehired as a full-time employee.  Richard retired again in January of 1996, receiving emeritus status but continued to work for the Department of Energy and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory as a private consultant.  Richard retired from consulting in 2011. He was always grateful for the opportunity to work alongside distinguished scientists, some of whom were Nobel Prize winners.

Outside of his professional career, Richard was known fondly by many for his heart of charity.  Throughout his life, he served in many church callings, including two full-time missions for the LDS church with Billie, his sweetheart.  His favorite calling was that of a missionary. 

He was a passionate and talented gardener from the time he was a small child. Richard gardened to supplement the food needs of his large family. In his later years, the garden grew larger as he took joy in widely sharing the bounty of his harvest. Throughout the summer, he supplied more than 80 families in need with fresh vegetables on a weekly basis and loved working with his grand-children in the ever-growing garden.  

Richard’s technical acumen extended beyond his professional career to every aspect of his personal life.  His hobbies included building and maintaining his beautiful home on Sunset Street. His skills expanded to auto-body repair to try to keep up with all the cars his teenagers wrecked.  Dick also loved to snow and water ski and taught all eleven of his children (and many neighbor children) to ski.  

On December 29, 2016 at the age of 90, Richard passed peacefully in his sleep with his daughter, Kathy, by his side.  He died from late-onset Alzheimer’s.  He was preceded in death by his parents, William Wendell Perkins and Jessie Pierce Perkins, his sisters Jean Perkins Sessions and Dorothy Perkins Taylor, his brother Michael William Perkins, grandson Richard Blake Pettey, Jr. (aka Anthony or Tony Perkins) and great granddaughter Sienna Lynn Perkins. 

Richard was loved and will be missed by many. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Billie Faye Shaw Perkins, his children Darwin Richard (Karen) Perkins, Kathy Lynn Pace, Shari aka Sharon Kunovsky, Melinda Jean (Mike) Koenen, Jeanette Faye, aka Jacqueline (David) Doane, Rebecca Ellen (Darin) Grondel, Ginger Lynette (Greg) Wilde, DeAnna Ruth (Martin) Winterrose, James Wendell Perkins, John William (Julia) Perkins, Liz (Shvonne) Perkins.  He was grandfather of 37 grandchildren, great-grandfather of 50 and great-great grandfather of one. 

We will miss his clever wit, brilliant mind, optimism and hearing him say he felt “great!” no matter the circumstances.  His lifelong example of love and devotion for Billie will continue to bless the relationships of his posterity for generations to come.  Our hearts are comforted by thoughts of our joyful reunion.

On Monday, January 2, 2017 viewing will be held at the Thayer Stake Center in Richland starting at 10:00am with the Funeral Service following at 11:00am. Graveside Services will be held at Sunset Gardens in Richland at 1:00pm.