Gordon Ray Perkins, 10/10/1945, 80 years old, died on November 1, 2025.
Gordy lived in Ada, Michigan at the time of his death. Previously he lived in Lapeer, Michigan where he owned Perkins Greenhouses and Florist, a family business founded in 1954 by his parents Dana and Ella Perkins. He was the youngest President of the Michigan Florist Association, President of Lapeer Kiwanis, President of Ohio Florist Association, and a Board Director for the Society of American Florists. Gordy was proud of being asked to testify for tax reduction on behalf of the farmers and florists of America before the Senate Finance Committee.
Survived by Norma Jean Perkins, his spouse of 36 years; daughter Holly Culp (Randy) of Carmel, Indiana and her children Dayna Egan (Gregory), Meghan Edwards (Henry) their daughter Brooklyn, and Keegan Culp (Caroline) their son Connor; son Chad Perkins (Peggy) of Dunlap, Illinois and his children Schyler Perkins, Megan Niezgucki (Jason), Matthew Krueger (Jessica); step children Lisa Paoletti, Romano Paoletti and Amanda Wheeler (John) and her children Lyric and Canyon Wheeler. Gordy was predeceased by his brother Jerry Perkins of Nashville, Tennessee.
Gordy enjoyed riding his Arabian horse Mikah, working with his tractor, and creating a beautiful lawn. He was a jack-of-all-trades and loved planning and working on home projects with Norma. Gordy was still working as a groundskeeper at the time of his death. He loved traveling, driving his Mini Cooper, and he especially loved his true-blue canine friend Maddie.
Gordy was a gregarious, welcoming neighbor, with always a hand to help. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Visitation will be held Thursday, November 6, 2025, from 12-2pm at O’Brien-Eggebeen-Gerst Funeral Home, 3980 Cascade Rd. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 with funeral service to follow at 2pm. Pastor Brady Nemmers (Keystone Church) officiating.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Kids Food Basket – Nourishing kids to reach their full potential., a grassroots, community solution to childhood hunger in Grand Rapids.
2 Responses
Gordy will be sorely missed. He always made us smile when he’d come in!!!
Dear Norma and Family,
I have been friends with Gordy since middle school when his family moved to Lapeer and joined the First Presbyterian Church which my family attended. I have so many fond memories of our adventures that they are difficult to count, and I share in your profound grief at his passing. He was everything that has been said about him and more, an indelible friend, a generous and kind spirit, an incredibly hard worker, so very proud of his family, and a true community citizen. We always ended our phone calls and visits with, “Love you man.”
Since moving to Seattle after college, I visited him every time I returned to Michigan for school reunions or college football and basketball games. We loved bantering with each other over the rivalry between our two colleges. When our oldest daughter, Megan, played basketball at MSU, he came to Ann Arbor for a game to see her play. While our youngest daughter, Stephanie, attended UofM, he actually held his nose and joined me for a couple of football games in the Big House. Other adventures I remember distinctly include: Playing together on the two-time Church League Champion Presbyterian basketball team (he may have been short, but he was a heck of a guard!); and getting ticketed by the police in East Tawas for “excessive noise” while peeling out around corners in our identical Chevy Corvair Monzas, and having to pay some modest fine to the local Justice of the Peace. To this day, I believe the fine was split between the JoP and the cop because the infraction never showed up on our driving records. However, the one that especially stands out is my being able to show up at his Surprise 50th Birthday Party which Norma threw for him in their horse barn when they lived near Lapeer. During the party, they sang a duet to each other of the Orleans’ song, “Still the One.” Every time I hear it on my phone’s music feed, that memory comes flooding back and I will cherish it for the remainder of my life. Finally, I am so very grateful to have seen him for a wonderful visit just this past August. I will miss him immensely.