Douglas Perkins

Dad sent us his obituary on December 23, 2024, one month before his passing from the cancer he fought for two years. We figured we’d need to revise it later, but couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. He was always proud of his words, and it felt wrong to change them. Dad’s obituary focused so much on the people (and dogs) he loved. And while he talked about his work at NOAA, he didn’t mention how proud he was of what he did there and how much he loved his career. His work instilled in us the importance of meaningful careers and meaningful impact. Dad was Mom’s biggest hype man, throwing himself into any hobby she found. He happily learned all about gardening, beekeeping, and after retirement his favorite hobby of theirs: the dogs. He always loved his dogs and was always ready with treats in his pockets. He spent every moment he could with his family. Any time we came home we were guaranteed games of Hearts or Dominoes at a coffee shop or Carcassonne at the dining room table. He tracked all wins and losses in spreadsheets, and was sure to let us know about our long-term statistics. When Greg showed interest in the Orioles, Dad went in completely with season tickets and a pretty impressive pin collection. They’re all displayed in one of the many shadow boxes he loved to make. And after I fell in love with sailing at Girl Scout camp, he and I did a father-daughter sailing camp for the next three summers. He ended up buying a boat from one of the camp directors, and we would sail in the Chesapeake Bay and up in Michigan. We’re going to miss him. Cancer sucks. Here’s dad: Mr. Douglas Mifflin Perkins, of Columbia, Maryland died January 23, 2025. Douglas was born March 23, 1952, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Paul Mifflin Perkins and Patricia Lee Garrison Perkins and the husband to Nancy Tillman Perkins, his wife of 37 years. As a child, Douglas participated in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and was actively involved in the Civil Air Patrol. He became the Cadet Commander of the Carroll Squadron of the Maryland Wing and a member of the Wing Cadet Advisory Council, achieving the rank of Cadet Lieutenant Colonel. He grew up hiking, camping, and sailing; and vacationing at the beaches in Florida and Nags Head. Douglas graduated from South Carroll High School with honors and as a member of the National Honor Society. Douglas received full scholarship to attend the University of Maryland. He spent his weekends camping and hiking, and spent three summers backpacking and camping. He graduated with a concentration in Geography and Geology. Douglas had a career in the Federal Service with 38 years in the National Ocean Service as a nautical cartographer and a contracts manager. He lead a team that developed a prototype system for digital creation of press plates for the printing of Maritime Navigation Charts. An expanded team that enhanced and implemented the plan was awarded the ‘Vice President’s Award for Reinventing Government.’ Douglas was the initial lead in developing the NOAA database for the Electronic Chart Display and Information System, ultimately being tasked with developing the data collection specifications and managing the contracts developed for the collection and maintenance of the databases. For this program the ECDIS group received a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal. For recreation Douglas was active with the Terrapin Trail Club, the Potomac Speleological Club. He enjoyed hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and caving. In 1985 Douglas met Nancy on outings in West Virginia and they married in 1987. In 1989 they decided to start a family, first with a Welsh Terrier puppy, and then, in 1990 with their twin children, Gregory and Katie. Life then revolved around dogs and kids and their activities. The first few years were full of beach vacations, then swim team, scouts, and music programs; along with travel and camping. Home life generally centered around enabling the activities of Gregory and Katie, along with the garden focused hobbies of Nancy including promoting native plants, bee keeping, and her activities with the local conservancy. In 2001 Gregory decided to try the Civil Air Patrol and Douglas rejoined that program as a Senior Member. Douglas served for twelve years as a squadron Personnel Officer and four years as a Group Personnel Officer achieving a grade as Major. Katie and Gregory graduated from college in 2012, the same year Douglas retired from NOAA. Douglas and Nancy began being part-time snowbirds to Florida until 2015. In 2016 they acquired a Welsh Terrier puppy named Reba, who their breeder had intended to show. Douglas and Nancy followed through with that intent, having Reba shown to AKC Champion and were persuaded to breed her. They got their second dog, Belle, from one of Reba’s liters. Belle was shown to Grand Champion and achieved a number 2 ranking female Welsh Terrier in 2020 and an invitation to the Westminster Kennel Club show in 2021 where she took second place female Welsh Terrier. After that peak in Conformation Shows Douglas and Nancy decided to focus on Belle’s participation in Agility completions and she ranked number 5 Welsh Terrier in agility in 2023. Douglas was preceded in death by his father, Paul Mifflin Perkins and mother Patricia Perkins. He is survived by his wife Nancy, son Gregory, daughter Katharine, and brothers Stephen and Erik.

Douglas Perkins

March 23, 1952 - January 23, 2025