Keith Perkins, the often-larger-than-life parish councillor and Buffalo-member, died after a short illness, in December 2022 aged 84, shortly after he and his wife Jenny were one of the first couples in the country to receive a card from King Charles celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.

 

Keith and Jenny had an exciting life together. They met in the Hammer and Pincers (now the Blacksmith’s Arms) and shortly after getting engaged in 1962, Keith was offered a job with Taylor Woodrow in Nigeria so they quickly married at Leicester Registry Office allowing Jenny to travel out and join him. They lived in Nigeria for 22 years. Keith worked for Taylor Woodrow and then the Nigerian government while Jenny established a nursery for children of all nationalities. During their time in the country, they experienced a military coup and civil war. Their four boys, Michael, Stephen, David and Patrick were born there. The couple left only once their boys were old enough to need the British schooling system. Neither Keith nor Jenny liked the idea of their children being so far away so they returned to the UK and Keith ‘commuted’ between England and Nigeria for a while with Jenny and the boys occasionally joining him.

I remember Keith and Jenny telling me about their ‘big family adventure’ when they drove from Lagos to Leicester through the deserts of northwest Africa with tents, water and their boys (then aged 7, 10, 12 and 13). From Algeria, they took the ferry to Alicante and drove through Spain and France until they finally arrived back home. In Barrow, Keith’s experience as a specialist restorer of listed buildings saw him in good stead to become a building surveyor for 20 years until he retired but then joined an agency and went round the county inspecting old people’s homes. 

This he did until he was 70 years old.

Keith became a respected parish councillor in 1984 and he was still serving when I was there in the early 2000s. He and I argued a lot because we were both outspoken with strong views but after a disagreement, he would always say something funny and make me laugh and we were friends again. He was an outgoing and friendly person who cared a lot about other people. Keith’s building knowledge and skills saved the parish council a lot of money when he volunteered his time and experience to help renovate the cemetery chapel. He had the interests and wellbeing of the village at heart. He was a member of the Buffalos (similar organisation to the Masons) for 60 years and a Freemason for 30 years – the thing he liked best about those organisations was the opportunity to do a lot for charity.

Keith and Jenny were able to enjoy their wedding anniversary celebrations with their children and 11 grandchildren and wider family but in early December Keith developed a cold which turned into pneumonia and he died in hospital after just three days. When I called round to see Jenny, her living room was filled with cards from all the people who knew, liked and respected Keith. They were certainly a tribute to this outgoing, sincere man.

Karisa Krcmar