Fungus experts David Dexter Perkins and Dorothy “Dot” Newmeyer Perkins, PhD ’52, husband and wife for 54 years, died within days of each other in January in Menlo Park.
David Perkins, who died January 2, at 87, of pneumonia, came to Stanford as an assistant professor and researcher in 1949. He focused on the fungus Neurospora, developing it as a model organism for use in genetics studies and cataloging strains of it worldwide. He was an editor of the journal Genetics from 1963 to 1967 and president of the Genetics Society of America in 1977, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981.
Dorothy Perkins, who died January 6, at 84, worked in her husband’s lab for almost 50 years, conducting research on fungus and its use in genetic studies. A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, she earned a master’s degree in botany-microbial genetics from Yale. Ill health forced her to retire in 1988, but she continued to edit scientific papers for her lab colleagues. The couple was known for their support of disadvantaged students, tutoring them and giving them work in the lab and financial support so they could continue to study science.
Survivors include a daughter, Susan; David’s sister; and Dorothy’s brother and sister.
