Valerie Perkins Obituary

Valerie Grace Lockhart Perkins passed away at home in Slidell, LA on June 28, 2022, with her three children by her side. She was born June 13, 1941, in Brooklyn, NY and spent her youth with her two brothers on 78th Street & 13th Avenue where she was raised by her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Valerie skipped the 7th grade and graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1958. She then received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Hunter College in Manhattan then a Master's degree +30 in special education. After marrying her former husband Henry Perkins in 1963, the couple welcomed their first child in 1970 before moving to Kiel, Germany. In 1971, they settled in Key Biscayne, FL and welcomed two more children. The family then moved to Slidell, LA where Valerie resided for the remainder of her life. Valerie loved travel and spent summers in Italy, visiting Austria, Germany, England, Sardinia, and France. Notably, she spent her 50th birthday in Greece, her 60th travelling the Caribbean, and her 70th in Belize, but her favorite place in the world was Cape Cod. In Slidell, Valerie taught as a gifted and talented special educator at the KEEP Center and Little Oak Elementary, retiring in 2007. A gifted visual artist, while still teaching full-time she also began a position as an art instructor at Northminster Presbyterian Montessori School where she continued until Covid forced her retirement at age 78. An absolute career highlight was her being chosen as a Fulbright Scholar in 2005, which included a trip to Japan for educational training, cultural immersion, and a home stay with a local family. Valerie could be found taking daily one-hour walks in an oversized sunhat and reading about: genealogy, Italian history, Pinocchio, the Pearlies of Victorian London, Rockingham teapots, Japanese Sumi-e art and Ikebana flower arranging, lemons, and the wonders of turmeric and matcha tea. In recent years, her evenings were capped off with a good laugh watching Stephen Colbert make the best of the world's current events. Valerie is survived by daughter Bethany Perkins and son-in-law Peter Lamson of Spartanburg, SC; son Adam Perkins of Slidell, LA; former daughter-in- law Leyla Hekmatdoost Perkins of Covington, LA; and daughter Jordan Perkins Bailey and her husband Michael Bailey of Annapolis, MD. She will be greatly missed by her grandchildren Mina, Alexander, Keating, Cora, Henry, and Ellis; older brother Harvey Lockhart and his wife Marilyn of Huntington, NY; and brother-in-law Timothy Wells of Teaneck, NJ, as well as extended family. Valerie treasured many relationships past and present, including cherished friends Irene Gravel and Patrice Box. She is predeceased by her mother Grace Keating Lockhart, her father, younger brother Bruce Keating Lockhart, former husband Henry Thomas Perkins, and free-spirited granddaughter Zahra Grace Perkins. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation on Valerie's behalf to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or your local library. A Celebration of Life will be held in Slidell, LA this fall, following which her ashes will be interred in Penobscot, ME. Please visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook. Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell, LA.