Robert Frampton Perkins, a former AAI Corp. employee who spent his retirement photographing Maryland's Episcopal churches, died Saturday of a heart ailment at his Cockeysville home. He was 76.
For the past 10 years, he and his wife crisscrossed the state from Garrett County eastward to make a complete photographic record of Episcopal ecclesiastical structures from county chapel to city cathedral.
"He was a stalwart," said William Stump, who edited Maryland Church News when Mr. Perkins turned in hundreds of photographs that were published in the monthly paper. The photos were a reader favorite, Mr. Stump said.
The photos were deposited in the archives of the Diocese of Maryland and the Diocese of Easton.
Mr. Perkins, the son of a Methodist minister, was an active volunteer in two local Episcopal parishes. In 1946, when he married Ruth E. Damm, he joined St. John's Huntingdon in Waverly, where the couple sang in the choir and Mrs. Perkins led the Girl Scout troop. They received the Rector's Award for "outstanding stewardship" in 1967.
When the couple moved to Baltimore County in 1969, they joined Sherwood Episcopal Church and continued their volunteer roles. Mr. Perkins was a member of Sherwood's vestry in the 1970s and also photographed the church and its stained-glass windows.
Born in Baltimore, Mr. Perkins grew up in Laurel, where he graduated from high school. He attended the University of Baltimore and the Johns Hopkins University.
In 1940, he joined the accounting department of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He later worked for Moran Printing Co. and Flight Refueling at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. In 1989, he retired as spare parts manager for AAI in Hunt Valley after 28 years with the company that offers support services to the military and to commercial customers for training and computer systems.
Mr. Perkins was a volunteer at the Cockeysville branch of Baltimore County Public Library, where he was in charge of best sellers in high demand. Each week, he sorted patrons' reserve slips and notified readers when their books were ready.
"He was a volunteer who never missed a day. He wanted to give something back to his community," said Bettie Ewell, a circulation librarian. "He was very popular with the people here."
A memorial service for Mr. Perkins will be held at 11 a.m. April 10 at Sherwood Episcopal Church, 5 Sherwood Road, Cockeysville.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his stepmother, Stella Perkins of Eldersburg; three sisters, R. Eleanor Grimes of Westminster, Janet Feezer of Eldersburg and Phyllis Manival of Williamsport, Pa.
Memorial contributions may be made to Sherwood Episcopal Church, 5 Sherwood Road, Cockeysville 21030.