Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Page 3
Services Set for Retired Judge David W. Perkins
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Services are scheduled for Nov. 7 for retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David W. Perkins, who died Oct. 19 after battling cancer.
Perkins, 74, served on the Downey Municipal Court from 1990 to 2000 and the Superior Court from 2000 to 2005.
The Pampa, Texas, native attended Compton Junior College from 1955 to 1957 before joining the Vernon Fire Department as a firefighter. He left to serve in the U.S. Army, returning in 1958.
He remained with the department until 1985, a period encompassing his education at USC and Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, and his joining a law firm in Downey in 1977. He served as acting fire chief in Vernon in 1971.
He eventually established his own practice in Downey, concentrating on criminal law, civil litigation, and family law, before running for the municipal court post in 1990.
He survived a four-way primary in which each candidate polled between 22 and 29 percent of the vote, then defeated retired prosecutor and part-time Los Cerritos Municipal Court Commissioner Leo Villa in the runoff.
He served as the court’s presiding judge in 1993, 1997 and 1999, then became the Superior Court site judge when the trial courts unified in January 2000.
He underwent a liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center in 2002 after being diagnosed with hemochromatosis, an inherited condition that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. He returned to work quickly and spent more than two additional years on the bench before retiring.
Survivors include his wife, Audrey Perkins, daughter Nancy Perkins, and three nieces.
Services will be held Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. at Cornerstone Christen Worship Center, 9001 Paramount Blvd. in Downey. The family suggested that any memorial donations be made to the Joanne Barr Memorial Liver Transplant Foundation c/o Alan Zusman Accountancy Corp., 307 E. Ojai Ave., Suite 200, Ojai Calif. 93023; to the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority, 9777 Seacca St., Downey Calif. 90241; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company