Sonja Marie (Blake) Perkins 1946-2021

PERKINS, BLAKE, FAULKNER, SEABOCH, BAUMUNK, SCHMIDT

Posted By: Janet Schuldt (email)
Date: 9/4/2023 at 15:29:48

The Laurens Sun, Laurens, Pocahontas, Iowa Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Page 4

Laurens, Iowa - Sonja M. Perkins, age 74, of Laurens passed away Sunday, May 16, 2021, at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral services were held Wednesday, May 26, 2021, at the United Methodist Church in Laurens. Burial was at the Laurens Cemetery in Laurens. The Powers Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Sonja Marie (Blake) Perkins was born on July 16, 1946, in her parents’ home in Laurens, Iowa, to Viola Leona (Faulkner) Blake and Charles Samuel Blake. She had a sister, Karen, who was 6 years older. Sonja spent her entire life in Laurens. and graduated from Laurens High School. Sonja attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota. She earned an associate of arts degree and was also a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. Sonja then embarked on a brief but successful career as an administrative assistant in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

On March 16, 1968, she was united in marriage with Larry John Perkins, also an LHS graduate, at the United Methodist Church in Laurens. Sonja and Larry would embark on a partnership that would last more than 53 years, and all of us consider it to be the model of how two married people should treat each other. Sonja and Larry would go into the farming business with his father, and Sonja would begin an arduous career as a farm wife. Later, Sonja would obtain a commercial driver’s license and join Larry with his over-the-road trucking.

Sonja and Larry were dedicated parents to their three children, Fred, Greg, and Molly. Sonja and Larry also are loving grandparents to six grandchildren, Emma, Mary, Elizabeth, Theodore, Charles, and Katelyn. Sonja loved spending time with her family, and it was truly her favorite part of life. She never hesitated to lend a hand to any of her children who needed her time and support. Sonja enjoyed celebrating holidays, and birthdays, and getting together to play cards with her kids. A special family memory was a Disney trip to Orlando, Florida, in 2018 to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Sonja was a very dedicated member of the Laurens community. She was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church in Laurens, Sarah Circle, and United Methodist Women and sat on various committees over the years. Sonja belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star and served as a Worthy Matron more than once. Sonja was involved in Meals on Wheels in her later years. She belonged to two bridge groups (both ladies and couples) spanning almost 50 years with each group.

Sonja was as dedicated to her friends as she was to her family. She would drive her friends (and often they would return that favor) to their medical appointments in faraway places. A group of Sonja’s high school friends had started an almost annual tradition of traveling as a group to places around the United States.

Sonja passed away peacefully with her family near her bedside at Iowa Methodist Hospital on Sunday, May 16, 2021. There really are no words that are able to be written that would ever do justice to the kind of quiet life of love and loyalty that Sonja led. She taught all of us the value of taking responsibility, of being yourself, of having a laugh, enjoying the moment, and loving one another. We will all miss her warm personality, her infectious laugh, and glorious smile. To all of us, she was an incredible presence that can never be replaced. Her love for us and our love for her will endure. We will love and miss her forever.

Sonja is survived by her devoted husband, Larry of Laurens; her son, Fred (Devona) Perkins of Emmetsburg; her son, Greg (Julie) Perkins of Carroll; her daughter, Molly (Chris) Seaboch of Nevada; and her grandchildren, Emma, Mary, Elizabeth, Theodore, Charles, and Katelyn. Preceding Sonja in death were her mother, Viola Leona Blake; her father, Charles Samuel Blake; her sister, Karen Kay Baumunk; her Aunt LaVonne A. Faulker; her mother-in-law, Norrene Ruby Perkins; her father-in-law, John Arthur Perkins; and great-nephew, Steven Schmidt.