April 21, 1943 – Sept. 15, 2022
Donald “Don” Allan Perkins, 79, of Cottage Grove, Ore. passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 15, 2022. Don was born on April 21, 1943 to Charles and Verna Jones Perkins in Vallejo, Calif. At the age of five, Don moved to Days Creek, Ore. with his family, uncle, brother and three cousins.
Don graduated from Days Creek High School in 1963 and moved to Cottage, where he met Linda Gates, his wife of 58 years. They married on Dec. 26, 1964 in Vancouver, Wash. and had two sons, Allen and Dwayne Perkins.
Don worked for Weyerhauser for 43 years where he held numerous jobs, but found his niche in driving log trucks. He enjoyed the woods in which he worked, and loved seeing all the animals and being close to nature. While his sons were in school, Don found himself coaching many seasons of basketball and baseball where his kindness and dedication made him an inspiration to his sons and the kids he coached.
Don and Linda enjoyed taking trips together and especially enjoyed taking their friends, Sheila and Marvin Pratt, with them on many sightseeing tours of Oregon. In 1989, Don and Linda, alongside some friends, founded a car club, The South Lane Cruisers. He and the club organized and participated in 22 years of car shows. He was also a member of the Cottage Grove Elks for over 40 years and a member of Eugene-Springfield Bowling Association. Being an avid golfer Don could also be found on the course with his great friend, Bob McCarty, and all his Middlefield Men’s Club buddies.
Don was a kind and generous man who loved the Lord, his family, his pets and his numerous friends. He leaves this world, loved and missed by many.
Don is survived by his wife Linda Gates Perkins of Cottage Grove; two sons, Allan Perkins and Dwayne Perkins of Cottage Grove; two grandsons, Jackson Perkins of Eugene and Todd Perkins of Cottage Grove; one granddaughter, Olivia Perkins of Portland, and one great-granddaughter, Charleigh Dolan of Drain; two sisters, Joyce Turrentine of Woodburn, Ore. and Charlene Lynch of Hermisston, Ore.; one god-daughter, Amanda Johnson of Oklahoma. Don is preceded in death by both of his parents and brother, Jerry Perkins. Arrangements by Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel and Crematorium.
