The Perkins Family
John Casey Perkins was born on July 15, 1918, to Ruby Earl and Sue McGaw Perkins. A Webster County, Kentucky, native, John attended Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As a student, he was a member of Bowling Green High’s winning Western Kentucky “Little 16” Conference football team. After graduating in 1936, he came to WKU. While on the Hill, he was a member of the Barons, which later became Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and participated in ROTC.
In 1941, John entered the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served with the 30th Infantry Regiment of the Third Infantry Division. He spent almost four years in foreign service during World War II in Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France, Austria, and Germany. He was in amphibious landings at Casablanca, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and Southern France.
John was also with the first group of Americans inside Dachau concentration camp at its liberation. For his service, he was awarded the American Defense Ribbon, Legion of Merit, the Army Commendation, the EAME Ribbon with 10 bronze stars and arrowhead for 10 campaigns, the Bronze Star Service Medal, Distinguished Unit Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon, World War II Victory Medal, the Italian Cross of Military Valor, Army Commendation Medal, and the World War II French Fourragere. He retired from service in 1947, as Lieutenant Colonel and was a member of the Retired Officers Association.
Following his time in the military, John had a prolific career. He became the owner and principal broker for Perkins Realty. He was recognized as Realtor of the Year in 1982.
John was active in his community as well. He was a longtime member of the Bowling Green Board of Realtors, Rotary Club, Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, Mid-Century Literary Club, and Downtown Business Association. He served as a deacon, elder, and trustee of the Presbytery in The Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green, Kentucky. He was on the board of directors of Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children and was named chairman of the board of Bellewood in 1982. A dedicated preservationist, he was appointed as a member and was elected to be the first chairman of the Bowling Green-Warren County Historic Preservation Board in 1990. He served as chairman for five years, during which time Bowling Green-Warren County’s Historic Preservation Ordinance was enacted, design guidelines were developed, and a local Historic District was established. He was a founding member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Landmark Association in 1976, and served on its board of directors.
He was acknowledged numerous times for his achievements. In 1998, the “John C. Perkins Operations Endowment” was established in his honor by the Landmark Board. In 1999, John was awarded the “Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Preservation Award” by the Kentucky Heritage Council. In 2008, he was inducted into the Bowling Green High School Hall of Honor.
John was married to Emily Hunter Perkins. Emily was born on January 5, 1927, to Hugh Barret Hunter and Emily Gilbert Hunter. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Emily graduated from Atherton High School. Upon graduation, she attended Northwestern University. She then went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in English from Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University. She and John had two children, John C. Perkins Jr. and Emily Perkins Sharp. The Perkins were married for 57 years until his passing on January 17, 2010, and hers on September 12, 2016.
To honor the memory of their parents and give back to the university, John C. Perkins, Jr. and Emily Perkins Sharp established the Perkins Family Scholarship Fund. The fund assists deserving WKU students who are high school graduates from Webster County, Kentucky, or from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Through this fund, the Perkins’ legacy lives on in perpetuity.