Daniel Perkins

Daniel William Perkins passed away at his home in San Antonio, Jalisco, Mexico Feb. 10, 2022. He recently underwent surgery for a brain injury and never fully recovered.  

Daniel was born on Dec. 5, 1953 at the Greene County Hospital in Jefferson to Carroll and Eileen Perkins. His older brother, David Michael, helped welcome him home. The family grew to include three more siblings: Timothy Mark, Mary Ellen and Jane Ellen.  Dan’s early life was spent on the family farm. Both his mother and his father enjoyed spending time in the outdoors hiking, exploring and fishing. This love was passed along to Daniel. Throughout his life, Daniel continued his passion for the outdoors traveling, exploring and spending time in the natural world. Fishing trips with his father and brothers were always a highlight in his younger years.

As a youngster, Daniel participated in Webelos and Boy Scouts during his grade school years. He participated in wrestling and played trumpet in high school, graduating with the Class of 1972.   

He completed his first year of college at Creighton University in Omaha, NE and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. He was drawn to community service and spent the next year serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Austin, Texas educating minorities about social services available to them and assisting them with enrollment as appropriate.  

Continuing his exploration of careers in a helping profession, he was admitted to Law School at the University of WA in Seattle where he received his Juris Doctor Degree. He applied for and was accepted as a Law Clerk in the First Judicial District Court in Waterloo. He then moved to a position as transportation attorney for the Iowa Department of Transportation in Ames. 

He yearned to find a more satisfying position where he could feel that he was having a more positive experience in a helping capacity and he became aware of a shortage of male teachers who could serve as positive role models for young men. Thus, he enrolled in an accelerated course at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where he earned his teaching credentials. He was a substitute teacher in the Denver, CO and Albuquerque, NM areas and found his teaching home on a Native American Reservation in New Mexico.

After retirement, Dan continued his love of traveling, camping, hiking and exploring the southwest United States, Canada and Mexico where he eventually settled in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. He was a life-long learner and an avid reader. He loved discussing ideas in a coffee shop with many international book-loving friends. He also became a dedicated conservationist and naturalist.  

He returned to Jefferson often and was of great assistance in helping his father restore 30 acres of native Perkins Pasture Land to its original state. He assisted in the family donation of the Perkins Prairie to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and continued working with that group on prairie maintenance and preservation.  

Dan was predeceased by his mother Eileen Perkins, his brother-in-law Tim Healy, Uncles Richard Dean Perkins, Edwin C. Perkins, Aunt Bethel Perkins Bouchard, and his grandparents. He is survived by his father, Carroll Perkins and stepmother Karen Voge-Perkins; siblings David (Melody) Perkins, Timothy Perkins, Mary Ellen (Gary Soreide) Perkins, and Jane Healy; nephew Chris Perkins (Sara) and niece Kelly (Scott) Acob; many extended family members and numerous friends.  

Memorial services will be held at a later date. Because of Daniel’s love of reading, memorials are suggested to the Jefferson Public Library. Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home assisted the family.