James Perkins Obituary (1937

James Laurel Perkins passed away peacefully on January 16, 2020 in Grovetown, Georgia. He was born on December 15, 1937 in San Francisco, California to James Klark Perkins and Ernestine Marie Heckman. He grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated from East High. After high school he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Guatemala. He loved the Guatemalan people and the Spanish language. When he returned from his mission, he joined the Army Reserves and proudly served our county. He also attended the University of Utah. Jim loved to learn about anything and everything. He found all subjects interesting and enjoyed learning new things. During his time at the U he also served as an aide to the Governor. After college he worked for the Foreign Study League. He was able to travel and see the world, while working in education, which was something he loved. During his travels he began his love of art and art collecting. He met and married Sharron Bevan on December 6, 1969. They were sealed November 8, 1980 in the Salt Lake City Temple. They settled down in Tooele, Utah to raise their family. They were blessed with seven children and enjoyed raising them on the farm. Jim and Sharron both knew how to work hard, and it was important for them to instill that in their children. They had orchards, gardens, and a large yard that they spent countless hours on. He especially enjoyed remodeling the family home. Jim worked doing industrial construction with Christensen and Griffith. He loved his coworkers and considered them to be great friends. After his retirement his greatest joy was spending time with his grandchildren and finding a good bargain on KSL classifieds. He loved spending time with his grandchildren putting together puzzles, working on projects, or having them sit on his lap while he told them a joke or a story. Jim never met a stranger. He believed that everyone had an interesting story and he loved hearing it. He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Sharron. Children; Melissa (Lee) Kerstetter, James Joshua (Megan), Daniel, Nicole. Grandchildren; John Christian (Vanessa), Justice, Liberty, Kadence, Noah, Lucy, Talmage, Wilkes, Ruby, Greysen, Ebbie, Mateo, Tiago, Declan, Elaina, Sierra, Connor, and Nick. Great-grandchildren; Everest and Elayna, step-mother Vivian and siblings Joyce, Klark (Lorelei), and Kristie, and his beloved grand-dog Sarg. He was preceded in death by his parents, and sons; Nicholas, David, and Eric. Family, friends and others whose lives have been touched by Jim are invited to attend his funeral service Saturday, January 25, 2020 at noon with a viewing starting at 10:00 a.m. at the LDS Chapel located at 410 Shelley Lane, Grantsville, UT. Interment will be at the Tooele City Cemetery. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of James Laurel Perkins please visit our Sympathy Store.