Riverside,
I am honored and sad to share the news that Rufus Perkins (1940 – 2020) died on March 13, from complications of pancreatic cancer.
Rufus was Board president when I joined Riverside in 1982. He provided calm leadership and exemplary modesty during a turbulent time in the club’s history. His sparkling eyes and wry smile lit up many a meeting. He was a fine oarsman, leader and friend who will be dearly missed.
Rufus, in his shell, 1980 (provided by Gaby and Jerry Zadow)
Below are a few stories about Rufus.
“When I joined Riverside, Rufus was among the small membership in the early 1980s. With his stalwart, kind, and welcoming presence, he was a great contributor to Riverside, one of the designers of a new era that defines who we are today. A champion, he was and is one of us, never in our wake.”
“Rufus joined Riverside in 1979 and was president when Riverside took the great step of admitting women. I remember Patty Pinkerton, Kathryn Reith, Anna Jones and Anne Marden as early (trial) members. And thank the gods for that. He was also involved with Jim Hanley and Charley Osborn through the transition (and anxieties) of Northeastern moving out, when I was treasurer. Many of the old guard are fresh in my memory: Bobby Cutler, Jim White, Will Melcher, David Lee, Bernie Horton, the Banes, Jim Hanley (whose oars are now mine, given me by Jamie), you, Lynn, and Charley, Ned Cooke, Peter Billings, Ken Sachar, Maria Lane. Riverside is important in our lives.
It was in the early 70s that Rufus took up rowing, first out of Harvard as a grad, in a wherry, then a gig, and then he had to qualify for a single doing a stake race I guess from Harvard up to CBC and back, through the Western Avenue bridge and back to Harvard under a certain time. Not a problem. He would have been about 31 - 32 at that time.
To row out of Harvard, he had to requalify in the pool. So, he went to the pool, threw a towel over his shoulder and was walking down toward the pool when someone came after him, waving his arms, and saying “you’ve got to wear a suit, there are women at Harvard now!”
Shortly after he bought a boat, a Murphy - not the best, and joined Riverside. We rowed that boat on the Concord river, then out of Riverside.
I wish I could remember the year he won the Head, but the year prior he raced in the Murphy Cup and finished somewhere in the 20s, about halfway down the list
The next year, when he won the Head, he had borrowed David Lee’s boat, an early van Dusen (wooden gunnels, etc.). He said that made the difference.
After that experience he bought his own van Dusen, the boat we rowed, and the boat I currently row
He was a good president, ran meetings efficiently, following Robert’s Rules and sticking to the agenda, and we weathered the transition with Buzz Congram and his Northeastern teams moving out. He left office with the club on an even keel financially
Rufus was an athlete. He was captain of the Harvard ski teams when everyone had to run 4 or 5 events, alpine and Nordic (including jumping!). He trained in Portillo and out west under Stein Erikson as a potential Olympic candidate. He continued skiing with us at Cannon and in Davos until last year. We could pick him out on the mountains because of that beautiful reverse shoulder style.
He was a woodsman and conservationist, a co-founder of the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, entrusting most of his 600 acres in Sugar Hill NH to the Trust. He was forever maintaining trails and mowing fields to keep them open up there.
We worked together at ADL when we first came to Boston. Rufus was a great friend and a member of our family for almost 50 years.”
“I had the pleasure of rowing in the afternoons for many years as did Rufus and a few other members such as Maria Lane and Rene Becker.
Rufus was a gentleman and (little did I know it at the time) a former champion.
He didn’t wear any of it on his sleeve.
We worked together on the racing days with his quirky computer program for recording the event results.
It was a pleasure knowing him!”
Rufus was a longtime member and leader at Riverside. What does it mean to be a member of Riverside? It means a commitment to excellence both on and off the water, and to supporting the Riverside community through service and leadership.
Thank you, Rufus.
Sincerely,
Lynn
Lynn R Osborn
President, Riverside Boat Club
