William F Perkins

The final curtain came down for William F Perkins (86), more commonly known as Bill, on January 22, 2021 at Westminster Village North in Indianapolis.  Bill was born to the late Floyd Gibson Perkins and Forest Marian Smiley Perkins on June 12, 1934 in Lebanon Indiana. He was also preceded in death by his brother, John C Perkins.

Bill began working in the family furniture business at a very young age.  During high school he started learning about broadcast media by working at the local radio station, WINL (where he also became aware of his future wife, Ley Anne Van Sickle.)  At Butler University, Bill quickly shifted his focus from business to radio and television.  He also joined the Air Force ROTC at Butler, started dating Ley Anne and, upon graduation, became a 2^nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. He served as an air traffic controller in Spokane, WA where Ley Anne joined him after they were married in 1958.  Bill left the Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant and retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1967 at the rank of Captain.

Once he completed active duty, Bill and Ley Anne returned to Lebanon and soon settled in Indianapolis when he accepted a job with Bob Montgomery, a former college instructor and mentor.  He then moved into public relations & research with Ruben, Montgomery Advertising Agency and eventually became their Media Director and Corporate Vice President in 1965. Bill moved client-side in 1977 to serve as Vice President of advertising for Hook’s Drug Stores where his approaches to the development of radio and television co-op support were pacesetters in the industry.

In 1980, Bill opened Indiana’s first independent media service, The Perkins Group.  And in 1985, Diane Nichols became a full partner.  Through Perkins-Nichols Media, Bill served as a media consultant and buyer for a wide variety of local and regional clients including Marathon Oil, Indiana University, and Bar Keepers Friend.  He also applied consumer communications techniques to the planning and placement of successful state-wide campaigns for five gubernatorial races, eight Senate campaigns, and several congressional and state offices totalling 63 campaigns in all.  Bill used to say, “I have handled both Democratic and Republican races, but I do have some integrity, I have never handled a prohibitionist.”

Bill was also very active in community theatre, acting in or directing nearly 100 productions and serving on various boards.  He worked with Mud Creek Players, Hamilton County Theatre Guild, Indianapolis Civic Theatre, and the Edyvean Theatre at CTS, among others.  He also reprised his small role in Amadeus at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and appeared as Ben Franklin in local television commercials.

In addition, Bill was an active member of Faith Presbyterian Church, serving as a deacon and an elder.  He was a member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis for 30 years and received the 2018 Kiwanis Career Award.  He enjoyed sailing and flying and his extensive travels took him to six continents.

Bill is survived by Ley Anne Perkins, his wife of 62 years, and their children David William Perkins (Diane Manzi) and Lynne Perkins Socey (Matthew Socey) and their granddaughter Emma Socey.

A small socially distanced service will be livestreamed at 2pm on Sunday, February 7, 2021 through the Faith Presbyterian Church website at https://indianapolisfaith.org/2020/09/03/live-stream-worship and on Facebook Live at Faith Presbyterian Church Indianapolis.  There will also be a celebration of Bill’s life at a later date when it is once again safe for larger groups to gather in person.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Faith Presbyterian Church, Downtown Kiwanis of Indianapolis, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Butler University, your local arts organization and/or the Alzheimer’s Association.