Terry Lee Perkins

Terry Lee Perkins of Mahomet went to meet his Lord and savior on Sunday (Jan. 12, 2020) in Champaign, surrounded by his loving family.

A celebration of Terry’s life will be held in his favorite place to be, his garage workshop (102 CR 2800 N, Mahomet), on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m.

Terry Lee “Chop” Perkins was born in Champaign to Emma and Harry Perkins on July 16, 1950. He went to Champaign schools and his post secondary education took him coast to coast from Boston to San Francisco.

When he came back to Champaign, he met the love of his life, Marge (Foltz) Roberts, on the dance floor. She called him the King and he called her Crow. They were married, the second time, on Jan. 4, 1984, and celebrated 36 years of love and laughter.

More dad than stepdad, Terry raised Marge’s sons Brett and Brad as his own and taught them how to be men and fathers. When the boys found wives, he was more father than father-in-law to them, and was a loving grandpa with a tough outer shell to Brett’s kids Boyd, Paige and Bailey and to Brad’s Marlee Jo.

Self-taught, Terry was the best body man around and restored, repaired and repainted countless vehicles over the years. Never one to relax, most hours of the day you could find Chop in his shop, usually with three or four projects going at once. Through his passion for cars, and rat rods in particular, he met many of his best friends — friends who became like brothers to him.

Terry was preceded in death, and greeted in heaven, by his father, mother, brother-in-law, a couple of his best friends, as well as many beloved dogs.

Terry is survived by his wife, Marge; sons, Brett (Julie) Roberts and Brad (Kimberly Clark) Roberts; brother, Greg (Jo) Perkins; grandchildren, Boyd, Paige, Bailey and Marlee; the “Three Stooges” or “Tres Amigos,” sisters-in-law Barb (Ken) Wyatt, Marilyn (John) Burch and Kathy (Marvin) Foltz; and many close friends who loved him and were there for him until the end.

The kind of man who would do anything for you, Terry told his granddaughter Paige, “There are two things in life: your word and good friends. If you say you’re going to do something, stick to it. And if you have good friends, you have a good life.” 

Special thanks from Marge and Terry’s family go to the doctors, nurses and staff at Carle’s sixth-floor Oncology Unit who made the best of the last eight days of Terry’s fight against pancreatic cancer. Thank you in particular to Dr. Andy Arwari, who helped Terry considerably over the past 2 1/2 years.

To honor Terry’s love of animals, donations can be made to the Champaign County Humane Society.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Terry Lee Perkins, please visit our floral store.