Hirokazu Inoue, Saitama, Japan
Memories of David Perkins
I was shocked to learn of the passing of Dr. David Perkins and, only a few days later, his wife Dr. Dorothy (Dot) Newmeyer. Since receiving the sad news, I have been reflecting on my association with him through the years.
In the spring of 1976, I met David at a Neurospora Information Conference held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. People were standing in line to enter the cafeteria for lunch. The man standing in front of me, with a dark-blue sweater over his shoulder, looked around with a quiet smile. I noticed his nameplate and immediately recognized his name: Dr. David Perkins. I was working in North Carolina at the time as a Visiting Fellow of the NIEHS/NIH in Research Triangle Park. To my surprise, David remembered my name from my having been a coauthor with Dr. Tatsuo Ishikawa on my first paper, which had appeared in the Japanese Journal of Genetics. Several years later, in 1984, I met him again at a Neurospora meeting in Asilomar. To my surprise, he recognized me at dinner and came over from his seat on the far side of the room to say welcome and shake hands. I was very impressed that he, a senior scientist, would always show special hospitality to young scientists and visitors. My wife Kazumi and I visited his lab in Stanford on our way home from the Neurospora meeting. We were treated so warmly at Stanford that my memories of that visit remain vivid today. In later years, I visited him in Stanford a couple of times with my students. Each time that we visited, we were met by his artful hospitality, which was always beyond anyone’s expectations, and we also benefited from his insightful comments on our research and helpful suggestions. We also met Dot in Stanford. Dot and I worked in related research areas, so it was a great pleasure to meet her personally and exchange research information.
Several months before of his death, David edited a paper that we had submitted to PNAS. As always, he was encouraging and helpful. His complimentary comments on the paper meant a great deal to me because I held him in such high regard, both professionally and personally. A personal comment that David made to me stays with me now. I told him that I was sad about the unexpected death of a friend. He said, “I am sorry to hear of the death of your friend. One of the problems that result from growing old is that one witnesses the death of old friends.” Now I feel that sentiment all the more strongly. I feel indebted to David Perkins for many things. I remember him not only as a great scientist, but also as a great gentleman, and as a mentor. He will be missed by many friends and colleagues throughout the world.
