Robert Lee Perkins died of natural causes July 19, 2001, at his home in Eckert. He was 75. He was born on Sept. 5, 1925, in Joplin, Mo.,to Macy and Iva (Rule) Perkins. He married Nona Stillwagon on March 22, 1947, in Aztec, N.M. He served as a seaman first class in the U.S. Navy from January 1942 to April 1946. He was stationed at the U.S. submarine base at Pearl Harbor.. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.