Robert “Bob” Perkins was known for his caring nature, even as a young patrolman, said Rhonda Perkins, his wife of 37 years.
“There was an elderly lady living under a bridge. He’d visit her on his shift and would always take extra food in his lunch to share with her,” Rhonda said. “He was so compassionate and was always the first one to help somebody when he could.”
Mr. Perkins died June 9 at age 77 of complications from cancer.
He had a long career in law enforcement, including a stint in the late 1970s as chief of the Pevely Police Department.
He grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Roosevelt High School, then served briefly in the military before settling into the family business.
“He came from an ironworker family,” Rhonda said. “His dad was a foreman; all his uncles, his five brothers, all were ironworkers. They helped build the Gateway Arch.”
Mr. Perkins worked as a journeyman ironworker starting in 1962.
“But that just was not his calling. He felt a calling to go into police work,” Rhonda said.
His family was not too pleased with his decision, but he persisted and completed the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy in 1970. He worked with the Warson Woods Police Department and was often “loaned out” to work undercover with a St. Louis area narcotics task force. In 1976, he took a job as a patrolman at Pevely.
“He was promoted to acting chief later that year, then to chief,” Rhonda said. “He served there until 1979.”
He continued his training, graduating from the St. Louis Metro Police Intelligence Surveillance School in 1977 and the St. Louis Police Academy in 1979.
Mr. Perkins had known Rhonda, who is 18 years younger, through his niece, Brenda.
“I’d go over to her house and he’d be there, visiting,” Rhonda said. “We reconnected some years later when he was working with the May Co., then called Famous Barr, in their security. He called and offered me a job.”
Happy with the job she already had, Rhonda turned him down.
“He asked me to dinner, and I was reluctant at first,” she said. “But he was very charming, and very good-looking.”
By 1985, the two were married and had two children together.
“He was such a great dad,” Rhonda said. “He loved to work on hot rods and cars, so when the kids got old enough to drive, they had to learn to do basic maintenance and repair on cars. We bought less-than-desirable cars, and they helped him fix them up. By the time they were done, he had turned them into hot rods.”
He kept that hobby up for the rest of his life.
“There’s a pickup out in the driveway right now he was working on,” Rhonda said. “I just know he’s in heaven, riding around in the shiniest red hot rod there is.”
In 1995, Mr. Perkins received the John O. Ellis Medal of Valor from the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission and a proclamation from Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar “for actions going beyond the call of duty.”
“One night while he was patrolling, he witnessed an accident,” Rhonda said. “Two young men were driving at a high rate of speed and ran into a flood wall, and the car burst into flames. Bob pulled them from the car just before it was completely engulfed. The driver died, but the passenger survived because of his quick action.”
After he retired, Mr. Perkins enjoyed an unusual hobby.
“He was a history buff, and liked watching documentaries on TV,” Rhonda said. “He’d buy these World War II-vintage knives and restore them.”
Rhonda said he also loved spending time with his grandchildren, including those from the four children he had from previous relationships.
“He never missed a chance to teach them life lessons,” she said.
Rhonda said her husband always tried to treat people with respect.
“When we were out, he was the first one to thank a veteran or first responder for their service. Now the grandkids do that. It’s really cool that he instilled that and they’re carrying it on.”
About 12 years ago, Mr. Perkins suffered a heart attack and stroke back-to-back.
“He recovered pretty well,” Rhonda said. “Then, about six years ago, he was diagnosed with tongue cancer.”
He had surgery to remove a tumor and some lymph nodes.
“It took a toll on him,” Rhonda said. “He had to go through 12 chemo treatments and something like 36 radiation treatments. It fried his taste buds, he lost hearing in his left ear. He was in such pain.”
The Perkinses recently joined SpiritWord Church in House Springs, which provided the couple with much-need support, Rhonda said.
“I could not have gotten through this past year without them,” she said. “People from church have surrounded us with love and prayer,”
Mr. Perkins went on hospice in August 2021 and died at home.
A planned memorial service and dinner at the church was derailed when a power outage left the building without air conditioning, lights or sound, but the community once again rallied around the couple.
“We called Chapel Hill (Mortuary) and they said to just have the service there,” Rhonda said. “The local VFW let us have the dinner there. We’ve just been so blessed.”
She said her husband would like to be remembered for his dedication to others.
“He was very humble about it, but he was very proud to be a police officer and to serve his community.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.