In 1995, when the Calvary Baptist Church on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road was demolished, Jim Perkins had a careful eye on the project. It wasn’t his church, but he suspected a piece of history lay beneath the bricks.
“Jim knew that the train used to come through Dunwoody to the river,” said Lynne Byrd, a friend and fellow history-seeker. “So he figured if they were demolishing that church, he might be able to find some remnant. So he stayed there and watched them tear it down and found a section of the railroad.”
An active member of the Dunwoody Preservation Trust, Perkins was known as the “un-official historian of Dunwoody,” said Byrd, a past-president of the organization.
“He was a very valuable member of the Trust,” she said. “I was interested in historic homes, but Jim was interested in anything historic.”
A couple of years later, Perkins had a massive stroke and required a wheelchair to get around, said his wife of 35 years, Judy Perkins. Over the past three years, his health declined and he died Friday from complications of the stroke. James G. Perkins, widely known as Jim, of Dunwoody, was 81.
A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. His body was cremated by H.M. Patterson & Son, Arlington Chapel.
A retired BellSouth employee and Petersburg, Va., native, Perkins seemed to love history for most of his life, his wife said. In high school, he was given the opportunity to write anything he wanted to be published in his senior yearbook. He chose to pen a historical piece on a Civil War battle fought in his hometown.
“He could have written anything, but he chose history even then,” she said. “That says a lot.”
Following high school, Perkins came to Atlanta to enroll at Georgia Tech, where he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering in 1952. That same year he was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he stayed until 1967, when he joined BellSouth. He remained with the telecommunications company until 1987, after which he became active with the Republican Party.
Perkins had been an active member of the party since the 60’s, but after retirement he dedicated his time to volunteer efforts. In 1988, he served as the rural county coordinator, covering over 75 Georgia counties, for George H.W. Bush’s campaign. The next year, he was recognized as the state Republican Party’s volunteer of the year and was personally recognized by former President Ronald Regan.
He was so adept at campaigning, people often encouraged him to run for office. “But he would tell people, ‘It never held any interest for me to be the candidate, but I love the behind the scenes,’” his wife said.
His stroke may have taken away much of Perkins’ mobility, but it did not diminish his love for the Republican Party or history, she added.
“I met him after his stroke on a church visit, you know,” said friend Bill Drury. “And he was so interesting, I went back almost once a week for the next three years.”
In addition to his wife, Perkins is survived by his four daughters, Virginia Day, of Atlanta, Rebecca Perkins, of Atlanta, Kathleen Herne, of Lawrenceville, and Sherry Broadway, of Roswell; and eight grandchildren.
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