Leigh is remembered for what he built, stood for, shared, taught and handed down.
He was first and foremost an outdoorsman: a love he inherited from his mother. He was an acute and accurate observer of nature, spending every moment possible in the wild. He was proud of hunting and fishing more than 250 days a year into his nineties. For him hunting and fishing was not competitive - not about the number of birds or fish caught but instead about the experience. He learned early that the approach to the stream was more important than the cast or the fly. He knew that what you observed and learned in the woods, your partnership with your dog, putting yourself into nature and being part of it - that was the important bit.
Anyone who knew Leigh recognized three things right away - he loved a good time, he had no time for B.S. or negativity, he was entirely his own person. His advice to anyone who expressed a need to find themselves was to ‘reach into your back pocket and grab.’ It might seem unusual that a kid, self-avowedly born with a silver spoon in his mouth, spent his youth trapping muskrats. He started his working life as a rod man on a mining survey crew. He felt his most important sale came after he was thrown down a flight of steps - breaking his nose - got back up, went back inside, and closed the deal. His dad had taught him to always finish what he started and he took that advice to heart. He did things because he wanted to do them and so was impervious to snobbery, peer pressure and any need to look down on others.
In 1965, after a nine month courtship of the owner, Leigh purchased the Orvis Company: a venerable, 109 year-old fishing rod maker and sporting supply company with 20 employees, located in Manchester, Vermont. Over the next 27 years he grew Orvis from a niche business into a national brand and one of the world’s most respected outdoor companies with more than 700 employees and sales topping $90 million. He was a hands-on innovator in both business and product development, pioneering the rise of catalog sales and recognizing the importance of customer service. His motto was “The customer is always right, even when you know damn well he is wrong.”
His sons ‘Perk’ and Dave made Orvis their life’s work, continuing his commitment to excellence, customer service and conservation. In turn they have been succeeded by a third generation; the company is now run by Perk’s son Simon, while Simon’s brother Charley and Dave’s daughter Hannah hold key positions in the business.
Leigh knew and passed on the knowledge that ‘you can always learn more by listening than by talking.’ He had great respect for the person on any job who actually makes things work, and he understood that the ability to get along with people from all walks of life was likely the most important thing he learned in life. All of this made him remarkably forward thinking and egalitarian - the joy he got from the woods and water was for everyone. The right to go as far as your abilities and inclination allowed should be open to all.
In 1966, Leigh created the Orvis fishing school, and later wingshooting school, for those not lucky enough to be born into outdoorsy families. In the 1960’s he was instrumental in establishing the Cleveland Scholarship Programs (now College Now) in his hometown of Cleveland, to provide higher education opportunities for those not born with his advantages. He honored the tragic death of his son Ralph by endowing a live animal memorial at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History that has helped teach tens of millions of Cleveland children and adults to know and value the amazing animals and environment of northeastern Ohio the way his son Ralph did. He helped found Tall Timbers, a research, conservation and education organization in the Red Hills Region. He was proud ‘not to be man enough’ to enjoy exclusionary all-male clubs. An entire wall of his cabin in Wyoming is exclusively devoted to photos of women anglers and their prized fish. (All fish were released.)
Leigh understood the importance of connecting people to nature in experiential and immersive ways, ways that could ignite a passion for nature. He also worked tirelessly to conserve nature so that those resources would continue to provide those experiences in perpetuity. He believed in putting your money where your mouth is. Not only was he personally generous, he pioneered corporate conservation efforts. Since the 1980’s, 5% of Orvis’s annual, pretax profits are pledged to environmental causes. His good friend Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, credits Leigh as a personal hero and ‘an inspiration to all of us who care about the outdoors.’ Leigh was an industry leader in using Orvis to create awareness, highlight conservation opportunities and invite customers to join in finding positive solutions. He served on many conservation boards - The Nature Conservancy, Tall Timbers, Trout Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Museum of American Fly Fishing, and others - typically stepping in at crucial junctures and making room for new leaders once the direction forward was clear.
Despite all the good he did, Leigh didn’t think of himself as a do-gooder. “No one feels sorry for me,” he said. “I’ve done exactly what I enjoy most all my life.” It’s remarkable how few people do exactly that: make a whole-hearted effort to do what they love as well as they can. It is that example of pursuing and sharing the real joy in life, for which Leigh will be remembered by everyone with the good luck to know him. For all that he accomplished, inspired, and shared, all with his constant wit, humor and wonderful laugh.
Leigh H. Perkins is survived by his wife, Anne; children Perk Perkins, David Perkins, Molly Perkins, Melissa McAvoy, Penny Mesic, Annie Ireland and Jamie Ireland; grandchildren Simon Perkins, Charley Perkins, Hannah Perkins, Molly Perkins, Jake Perkins, Leigh Perkins, Spencer McAvoy, Emma McAvoy, Ralph McAvoy, Melissa Mesic Marshall and James Mesic; three great-grandchildren and a pack of four-legged family members.
Orvis Company in memoriam
https://news.orvis.com/uncategorized/celebrating-a-life-outdoors-leigh-h-perkins-1927-2021
Article about Leigh Perkins can be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/business/leigh-h-perkins-dead.html
Donations can be made to https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/Q24zOUG in Leigh's memory to support conservations.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/leigh-perkins-dead/2021/05/12/6fad313a-b336-11eb-9059-d8176b9e3798_story.html
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/leigh-perkins
https://obituaries.timesenterprise.com/obituary/leigh-perkins-1082314432
https://www.bonefishtarpontrust.org/blog/2021-05-18-remembering-leigh-perkins-chairman-of-orvis-and-conservation-leader/
https://coveyrisemagazine.com/ties-that-bind/
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Leigh Perkins, please visit our flower store.
He was first and foremost an outdoorsman: a love he inherited from his mother. He was an acute and accurate observer of nature, spending every moment possible in the wild. He was proud of hunting and fishing more than 250 days a year into his nineties. For him hunting and fishing was not competitive - not about the number of birds or fish caught but instead about the experience. He learned early that the approach to the stream was more important than the cast or the fly. He knew that what you observed and learned in the woods, your partnership with your dog, putting yourself into nature and being part of it - that was the important bit.
Anyone who knew Leigh recognized three things right away - he loved a good time, he had no time for B.S. or negativity, he was entirely his own person. His advice to anyone who expressed a need to find themselves was to ‘reach into your back pocket and grab.’ It might seem unusual that a kid, self-avowedly born with a silver spoon in his mouth, spent his youth trapping muskrats. He started his working life as a rod man on a mining survey crew. He felt his most important sale came after he was thrown down a flight of steps - breaking his nose - got back up, went back inside, and closed the deal. His dad had taught him to always finish what he started and he took that advice to heart. He did things because he wanted to do them and so was impervious to snobbery, peer pressure and any need to look down on others.
In 1965, after a nine month courtship of the owner, Leigh purchased the Orvis Company: a venerable, 109 year-old fishing rod maker and sporting supply company with 20 employees, located in Manchester, Vermont. Over the next 27 years he grew Orvis from a niche business into a national brand and one of the world’s most respected outdoor companies with more than 700 employees and sales topping $90 million. He was a hands-on innovator in both business and product development, pioneering the rise of catalog sales and recognizing the importance of customer service. His motto was “The customer is always right, even when you know damn well he is wrong.”
His sons ‘Perk’ and Dave made Orvis their life’s work, continuing his commitment to excellence, customer service and conservation. In turn they have been succeeded by a third generation; the company is now run by Perk’s son Simon, while Simon’s brother Charley and Dave’s daughter Hannah hold key positions in the business.
Leigh knew and passed on the knowledge that ‘you can always learn more by listening than by talking.’ He had great respect for the person on any job who actually makes things work, and he understood that the ability to get along with people from all walks of life was likely the most important thing he learned in life. All of this made him remarkably forward thinking and egalitarian - the joy he got from the woods and water was for everyone. The right to go as far as your abilities and inclination allowed should be open to all.
In 1966, Leigh created the Orvis fishing school, and later wingshooting school, for those not lucky enough to be born into outdoorsy families. In the 1960’s he was instrumental in establishing the Cleveland Scholarship Programs (now College Now) in his hometown of Cleveland, to provide higher education opportunities for those not born with his advantages. He honored the tragic death of his son Ralph by endowing a live animal memorial at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History that has helped teach tens of millions of Cleveland children and adults to know and value the amazing animals and environment of northeastern Ohio the way his son Ralph did. He helped found Tall Timbers, a research, conservation and education organization in the Red Hills Region. He was proud ‘not to be man enough’ to enjoy exclusionary all-male clubs. An entire wall of his cabin in Wyoming is exclusively devoted to photos of women anglers and their prized fish. (All fish were released.)
Leigh understood the importance of connecting people to nature in experiential and immersive ways, ways that could ignite a passion for nature. He also worked tirelessly to conserve nature so that those resources would continue to provide those experiences in perpetuity. He believed in putting your money where your mouth is. Not only was he personally generous, he pioneered corporate conservation efforts. Since the 1980’s, 5% of Orvis’s annual, pretax profits are pledged to environmental causes. His good friend Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, credits Leigh as a personal hero and ‘an inspiration to all of us who care about the outdoors.’ Leigh was an industry leader in using Orvis to create awareness, highlight conservation opportunities and invite customers to join in finding positive solutions. He served on many conservation boards - The Nature Conservancy, Tall Timbers, Trout Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Museum of American Fly Fishing, and others - typically stepping in at crucial junctures and making room for new leaders once the direction forward was clear.
Despite all the good he did, Leigh didn’t think of himself as a do-gooder. “No one feels sorry for me,” he said. “I’ve done exactly what I enjoy most all my life.” It’s remarkable how few people do exactly that: make a whole-hearted effort to do what they love as well as they can. It is that example of pursuing and sharing the real joy in life, for which Leigh will be remembered by everyone with the good luck to know him. For all that he accomplished, inspired, and shared, all with his constant wit, humor and wonderful laugh.
Leigh H. Perkins is survived by his wife, Anne; children Perk Perkins, David Perkins, Molly Perkins, Melissa McAvoy, Penny Mesic, Annie Ireland and Jamie Ireland; grandchildren Simon Perkins, Charley Perkins, Hannah Perkins, Molly Perkins, Jake Perkins, Leigh Perkins, Spencer McAvoy, Emma McAvoy, Ralph McAvoy, Melissa Mesic Marshall and James Mesic; three great-grandchildren and a pack of four-legged family members.
Orvis Company in memoriam
https://news.orvis.com/uncategorized/celebrating-a-life-outdoors-leigh-h-perkins-1927-2021
Article about Leigh Perkins can be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/business/leigh-h-perkins-dead.html
Donations can be made to https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/Q24zOUG in Leigh's memory to support conservations.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/leigh-perkins-dead/2021/05/12/6fad313a-b336-11eb-9059-d8176b9e3798_story.html
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/leigh-perkins
https://obituaries.timesenterprise.com/obituary/leigh-perkins-1082314432
https://www.bonefishtarpontrust.org/blog/2021-05-18-remembering-leigh-perkins-chairman-of-orvis-and-conservation-leader/
https://coveyrisemagazine.com/ties-that-bind/
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