Carl Dewey Perkins (October 15, 1912 – August 3, 1984) was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the Commonwealth of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexington, Kentucky in 1984.

Early years

Carl Dewey Perkins was born in Hindman, Kentucky on October 15, 1912, to Dora Calhoun Perkins and James Perkins. Perkins attended high school at Hindman High School and Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College). He worked as a teacher in a Knott County School for 90 students. He then went on to attend the Jefferson School of Law (now known as the University of Louisville School of Law) and graduated in 1935.

In 1938 Perkins married Verna Johnson and they had one son, Carl C. Perkins. 1960, 1964 (where Perkins was the only yes vote from Kentucky), and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. UPI described Perkins as "one of the most effective field generals" in Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.

Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins would order flags to fly at half staff at state facilities in honor of Perkins until his funeral.

The funeral proceedings were hosted in the Knott County High School gymnasium that was filled to capacity by colleagues and constituents of the congressman all of which were there to pay their respects. Notable attendees included Senator Edward Kennedy, House Majority Leader Jim Wright, Congressman William H. Natcher and House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neil who gave the eulogy.

Perkins was succeeded in office by his son, Carl C. Perkins.

Legacy

thumb|The Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in [[Ashland, Kentucky in 2023]]

thumb|A painting of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto Rivers, showing the Carl Perkins Bridge. Artist Herb Roe

Perkins's legacy of support to education and the under-privileged is shown by the federal student loan called the Perkins Loan, named for him, as is the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, which provides federal money for vocational education. The Carl D. Perkins Bridge crossing the Ohio River, the Carl D. Perkins Building on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University, and the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Ashland, Kentucky are named after him. The vocational school in Hindman, Kentucky at Knott County Central High School, Carl D. Perkins Job Corps at Prestonsburg and Carl D. Perkins Rehab Center at Thelma are also named in his honor. Kentucky highway 80 in Hazard, Kentucky is named the Carl D. Perkins Parkway. The Carl D. Perkins Parkway stretches from Hazard, Kentucky through Carl D. Perkins home county of Knott county, Kentucky. The Carl D. Perkins Parkway connects to the Hal Rogers Parkway in Hazard, Kentucky. There is also a Carl D Perkins Center, located in Morehead, KY.

Perkins' grave site is in Hindman, Kentucky, in a public cemetery named "Mountain Memory Gardens". However, he was originally buried at a private cemetery near his home in Hindman. In 2007 Perkins's body was moved to where he is presently buried at Mountain Memory Gardens. Verna J. Perkins sold the old house and the land. She had since retired to Lafayette Living Center home for the elderly in Lexington, and died in 2012.

See also

  • List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)

References

  • Carl D. Perkins Papers, 1948-1984, 496 cubic feet (processed) Compiled by Jackie Couture, Debbie Whalen, Chuck Hill, Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections and Archives