Obituary for A. James Perkins
ARTHUR JAMES (Jim) PERKINS
March 4, 1940 – October 19, 2023
On Thursday, Oct. 19, after a sudden and brief illness, Jim Perkins died at his home on Windmill Rd., Prescott/Johnstown, attended by Enes (Xuereb), his loving wife of 40 years. Jim was the son of the late Arthur and Agnes Perkins (Nan Lavigne) of Prescott and brother of Catherine in Kingston and the late Richard (Dick) of Smiths Falls (Carol Deegan).
He is also being mourned as an uncle by Dick’s children Chris, Mike, James, Shannon and their families in Smiths Falls, and Sharron and Phillip of Ottawa, and will be missed by many U.S. and Canadian cousins in the extended Lavigne, Alberry, Redmond and Perkins families, including Diane (Perkins) Jozefowicz, Prescott. Jim also enjoyed being part of his wife’s supportive Xuereb circle: siblings John, Felix, Doris, Carman, Ann, the late Anthony, and their families.
Jim grew up in Prescott, wartime Brownsburg, Que., Athens, Ont., and Smiths Falls, and had worked in administrative posts for the 0CPR, in London (UK), then Queen’s University and Ottawa, but eventually came back to his home town in 1978, commuting daily to the capitol for years. He retired in 2005 as an employment counsellor with Service Canada, Prescott.
Jim had singing, dancing, organist and acting talents that enhanced his own life and many others’ from childhood into his 80s. Trained in New York City, he toured with Britain’s New London Dance Troupe, performing in many European capitals while working in the U.K. He acted in Gordon Pinsent’s CTV series Quentin Durgen, MP, and appeared often on stages in Ottawa, Gananoque and Kingston. Together with Enes, he later performed in several Brockville shows, especially comedies.
He also put his gifts as singer and organist into the service of the Catholic Church at both the parish and diocesan levels. He sang in the choir that welcomed Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Visit to Ottawa in 1984 and just this summer marked his 41st year as variously organist and choir director for St. Mark’s, Prescott. He was also known for his hobbies: wildlife carving, wine-making, fabric art, and especially gardening, with Christmas light displays.
Especially after their 1983 marriage and Jim securing dual citizenship in Enes’s native Malta, the couple began travelling the world in all seasons, especially Europe, Ireland, North and Central America, Australia and New Zealand -- ocean and river cruising, tracking ancestry, skiing, filming and making friends.
Until he could no longer speak, Jim expressed his thanks to all who helped, including family members, palliative care nurses, Father Charles McDermott, and the oncology team in Kingston. For anyone wishing to make memorial gifts, his favoured charities were Cancer and MS research and the restoration of St. Mark Church, Prescott.
Cremation has taken place. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mark Church, 160 Dibble St. W., on Friday, Nov. 3, at 11:00 a.m., with interment beside his parents and Perkins grandparents in the Prescott Cemetery (Sandy Hill), 975 Edward St. N. A gathering of family and friends to share memories will follow.
Jim Perkins was a good and gracious man, a faithful steward, a beloved relative, and an amiable friend. May he rest in God’s peace.
All arrangements have been entrusted to the MacKay Funeral Home of Prescott, Ontario
March 4, 1940 – October 19, 2023
On Thursday, Oct. 19, after a sudden and brief illness, Jim Perkins died at his home on Windmill Rd., Prescott/Johnstown, attended by Enes (Xuereb), his loving wife of 40 years. Jim was the son of the late Arthur and Agnes Perkins (Nan Lavigne) of Prescott and brother of Catherine in Kingston and the late Richard (Dick) of Smiths Falls (Carol Deegan).
He is also being mourned as an uncle by Dick’s children Chris, Mike, James, Shannon and their families in Smiths Falls, and Sharron and Phillip of Ottawa, and will be missed by many U.S. and Canadian cousins in the extended Lavigne, Alberry, Redmond and Perkins families, including Diane (Perkins) Jozefowicz, Prescott. Jim also enjoyed being part of his wife’s supportive Xuereb circle: siblings John, Felix, Doris, Carman, Ann, the late Anthony, and their families.
Jim grew up in Prescott, wartime Brownsburg, Que., Athens, Ont., and Smiths Falls, and had worked in administrative posts for the 0CPR, in London (UK), then Queen’s University and Ottawa, but eventually came back to his home town in 1978, commuting daily to the capitol for years. He retired in 2005 as an employment counsellor with Service Canada, Prescott.
Jim had singing, dancing, organist and acting talents that enhanced his own life and many others’ from childhood into his 80s. Trained in New York City, he toured with Britain’s New London Dance Troupe, performing in many European capitals while working in the U.K. He acted in Gordon Pinsent’s CTV series Quentin Durgen, MP, and appeared often on stages in Ottawa, Gananoque and Kingston. Together with Enes, he later performed in several Brockville shows, especially comedies.
He also put his gifts as singer and organist into the service of the Catholic Church at both the parish and diocesan levels. He sang in the choir that welcomed Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Visit to Ottawa in 1984 and just this summer marked his 41st year as variously organist and choir director for St. Mark’s, Prescott. He was also known for his hobbies: wildlife carving, wine-making, fabric art, and especially gardening, with Christmas light displays.
Especially after their 1983 marriage and Jim securing dual citizenship in Enes’s native Malta, the couple began travelling the world in all seasons, especially Europe, Ireland, North and Central America, Australia and New Zealand -- ocean and river cruising, tracking ancestry, skiing, filming and making friends.
Until he could no longer speak, Jim expressed his thanks to all who helped, including family members, palliative care nurses, Father Charles McDermott, and the oncology team in Kingston. For anyone wishing to make memorial gifts, his favoured charities were Cancer and MS research and the restoration of St. Mark Church, Prescott.
Cremation has taken place. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mark Church, 160 Dibble St. W., on Friday, Nov. 3, at 11:00 a.m., with interment beside his parents and Perkins grandparents in the Prescott Cemetery (Sandy Hill), 975 Edward St. N. A gathering of family and friends to share memories will follow.
Jim Perkins was a good and gracious man, a faithful steward, a beloved relative, and an amiable friend. May he rest in God’s peace.
All arrangements have been entrusted to the MacKay Funeral Home of Prescott, Ontario