| Lloyd Howard Perkins |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT LLOYD HOWARD PERKINS | |
| 1923 births | |
| 1999 deaths | |
| deaf people | |
| bishops of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints | |
| american latter day saints | |
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Lloyd Howard Perkins ( October 6 , 1923 - September 4 , 1999 ) was the first deaf Bishop in the history of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints . He was born in Ogden, Utah , to James Emery Perkins and Lila Luella Bess Perkins. At the age of nine, He lost his ability to hear due to spinal meningitis. He married Vynola Dean Kernell on June 6, 1946 and later divorced. He married Madelaine Peterson Burton on December 27, 1976. He served as a Stake Missionary in Scottsdale, Arizona, and held many positions in the Church. He served on the High Council in the Salt Lake Park Stake. In his later years, despite poor health, he completed a mission with his wife in the Norway Oslo Mission. He did more than serve as the first deaf Bishop for the first deaf ward in the history of the LDS Church. He gave credence to a Utah subculture. "Having their own ward meant that deaf people were able to be recognized as having their own language," said Perkins' son, Kerry Max Perkins. Perkins influence extended far beyond his church work and far beyond his own disability. "He taught me it doesn't matter if you're handicapped or not, you should fight for what you believe in," his son said. "As his child, I will miss his wisdom." He influenced the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He served on the Governor's Committee to educate others about the act and to fight for total communication teaching in Utah's schools. "In the 1960's, there was a big fight betwen all those educators who wanted only lip-reading taught in schools-no sign language. He believed they should teach total communication, or both sign language and lip reading. He led the fight for it," Kerry Perkins said. In 1975, Perkins donated a teletype unit to the Salt Lake Police Department. It enabled deaf families with a similar unit to call the department when they needed help. "Before now, we had to ask a neighbor to call the police or wait for our children to come home from school," Mr. Perkins said. "It wasn't overwhelming, but it was a concern." "A lot of deaf and hearing people in Utah would come to him for advice or just for someone to talk to," Kerry Perkins said. "What I will miss most about him is his love for everybody," he said. Mr Perkins other children are Lloyd Dean, Susan Lila, and Patricia Luella. The links below are obituaries. The first is from Mormon News. The second is from the Utah Association for the Deaf. http://www.mormonstoday.com/990912/L5Perkins01.shtml http://www.uad.org/obit.html |
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