Keith Garn Perkins left his mortal life on Sunday, February 12, 2023. Keith was a devoted husband, father, brother, friend, and a huge BYU football fan. All of his grandparents are descendants of Mormon pioneers who helped colonize southern Utah. He was born on June 19, 1948 in Kanab, Utah. His parents, Garn and Lucille Perkins, were very happy to welcome their firstborn son into their home. He was joined three years later by his brother, Dilworth. During his school years he enjoyed baseball and football.
Kanab is where he lived his whole life until after he graduated from Kanab High School in 1966. His graduating class had 22 classmates, one of the smallest Kanab had seen for many years. It was even smaller than his mother’s graduation class. They are all still good friends today.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he left in 1966 to serve as a missionary in the East French Mission serving for almost two and a half years. When he returned home in December 1969 he left to attend Ricks College for one semester starting in January 1970.
It turned out to be a life changing experience because that is where he met his future wife, Anita Infanger. Her sister Becky, who was also going to Ricks, set them up on a blind date. They went to a Letterman’s concert on campus. After spending more time getting to know each other they were married on November 20, 1970 in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. Following their marriage they lived in Kanab for a couple of years then moved to Pocatello, Idaho, then to Salt Lake City Utah, where they lived for 18 years, then back to Kanab in 1995.
Together they have two sons, Kyle (Heather) Perkins who lives in Beaver, Utah, Bryan Perkins from Salt Lake City, Utah, and one daughter, Kristy (Lee) Guerry who lives in the Fort Worth/Dallas area in Texas.
Keith worked for the Utah State Highway Patrol for twenty years, with the first ten years working governor security. He was able to transfer to the commercial truck division in Kanab to work for ten more years. He loved living back “home” in southern Utah, it brought him closer to family and friends. He joined the UT/AZ (Utah/Arizona) ATV Club and enjoyed going on many of the wonderful trails in the area with club members and other friends.
He retired from the highway patrol in 2005 and started a pilot car business guiding oversized-load vehicles all over the western United States.
In 2014 he and his wife, Anita, left to serve a senior-couple mission in Shiprock, New Mexico, where together they taught seminary classes for students at Shiprock High School.
After returning home from New Mexico he resumed the “good life” which included going on four-wheeler trips, hiking, and bicycling.
Keith was preceded in death by his parents, aunts and uncles, and his nephew, Andrew Perkins.
He is survived by his wife, Anita (married for 52 years); his children, Kyle, Bryan, and Kristy; and grandchildren, Mathew Smith, Thomas Perkins, Nathan Perkins, and Libby Perkins.
Funeral Services will be held Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 11:00 AM in the Kanab Utah South LDS Church, 604 South HWY 89A, Kanab, Utah. A viewing will be held from 10:00-10:45 AM at the South Chapel. Burial will be in the Kanab Cemetery with Honors by the Utah Highway Patrol Honor Guard. Services were arranged with Mosdell Mortuary.