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GARY M. PERKINS
GARY M. PERKINS, age 45, passed away peacefully on June 11 in Olympia, Washington from cancer related to his Crohns disease, which he had since age 19. Gary worked as writer for three governors: the Honorable Mike Lowry, the Honorable Gary Locke, and the Honorable Christine Gregoire. In addition to working in the Office of the Governor for more than 12 years, Gary worked for the state Senate and House of Representatives in several capacities, including as Legislative Assistant to Spokane Representatives Shirley Rector and Dennis Dellwo. He also worked as Public Information Officer for the Department of Agriculture under Jim Jessernig. Having lived and worked in both Eastern and Western Washington, he was familiar with political issues across the state. In addition to his work experience, Gary took leadership roles in numerous organizations. He was elected President of the Young Democrats of Washington in 1985a time when the organization was struggling to rebuildand brought the organization into a leadership role in the Young Democrats of America (YDA), of which he was also an officer. He was the founding Chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues Caucus of the YDA, a Co-Chair of the Thurston county chapter of Hands Off Washington and Chair of the Harvey Muggy Stonewall Democrats. He also volunteered as a member of the Board of Stonewall Youth in Olympia. In the Office of the Governor, Gary delighted in participating in the Governors lunch buddy program to help schoolchildren with special challenges. He was involved in many campaigns at the national, state and local levels. Gary truly enjoyed his many years of participation in politics and was grateful for the opportunity to serve. He was profoundly grateful for all the love and support of so many family, friends, co-workers in state government, healthcare providers and countless others. Gary recently published his first novel, Closet Governor, which won both the publishers Editors Choice Award and Readers Choice Award and is available from most booksellers. His second novel, a political thriller, is expected to be published in the near future. Gary was a huge Mariners fan and derived great pleasure from watching Mariners games, even in his last days. He also loved to travel and visited many countries such as China, Taiwan, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, France, the Cayman Islands and Cuba, to name a few. Even in just the last few months Gary enjoyed wonderful trips to Rome, Athens and Alaska. He also enjoyed skiing and scuba-diving. Gary received a Masters degree in 1987 from the University of Montana School of Journalism, having graduated with an A.A. in 1983 from Spokane Falls Community College and a B.A. in 1986 from The Evergreen State College in Olympia. He was born in Omak, Washington and grew up in Tricities, where he attended St. Josephs Catholic School and public high schools, graduating from Pasco High School. In recent years Gary lived in Olympia. Gary encouraged friends and others to learn about his condition on the website www.garymperkins.com. Many friends, co-workers and even complete strangers were very impressed by Garys ability to maintain a strong, positive attitude, a calm demeanor and his usual delightful sense of humor (often with a focus on coffee) throughout even the most difficult times. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Pride Foundation at 2014 E. Madison, Seattle, WA 98122, www.pridefoundation.org; and/or to Stonewall Youth, P.O. Box 7383, Olympia, WA 98507-7383, www.stonewallyouth.org; and/or to the American Cancer Society, for example by participating in their Relay for Life events, www.cancer.org. Gary is survived by his life partner of more than 14 glorious years, Hal Stockbridge of Olympia, his mother and stepfather Shirley and Stace Valentine of Spokane, his brothers Tom, Bill and Dave Perkins and Toms wife Linda Perkins of Tricities, and his niece and nephews, Kendra, Ray and Olin Perkins of Tricities and Lynn and Chris Perkins of Seattle. A funeral service will be held this Saturday afternoon, June 18, 4:00 p.m., preceded by a viewing on the same day at 2:00 p.m. The location will be the Mills and Mills Funeral Home just off Interstate 5 exit 102, across the street from the Tumwater Costco. The address is 5725 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater, WA 98512; phone: (360) 357-7743. Please also consider signing online guestbooks at www.legacy.com.