Harry M. Perks, ’51
Harry M. Perks, of Medford, N.J., died Sept. 30, 2013. = He was the guy who
got things done. Whether it was supervising the building of the = Pennsylvania
Convention Center and monitoring its expansion, building new public = schools,
renovating the library, the zoo and the Academy of Music, building = Veterans
Stadium, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and myriad other
construction projects. Oh, as the city streets commissioner in the = 1980s, he
coped with Philadelphia’s periodically critical trash-disposal problem. = When
the convention center was completed on time and on budget in 1993, the = late
Willard G. Rouse III, then chairman of the center authority, gave = full
credit to Harry Perks, the executive director. Although famed for = his
modesty, Harry agreed with Rouse. "My skill is getting the job = done," he
said. "Tell me what you want; I’ll get it done." Those words = were the
guiding spirit of Harry Perks, who died yesterday at 85. No matter what = he
undertook, and it seemed he was involved with many of the major projects = and
goals over the past five decades that made Philadelphia exceptional, = Harry
did it right. "Harry Perks was one of the finest public servants = we’ll ever
know or have the privilege to work with," Mayor Nutter said. = "He was smart,
honest, sincere and funny in his own way. "He took his public = service
seriously and operated with the highest ethical standards and = instilled
those principles in everyone around him. He took on the tough jobs = and
completed them with great skill. "He loved this city and its = people. I
learned so much from him, admired him and will miss him greatly." = In 2004,
when plans were being made to expand the convention center, the = Inquirer
wrote in an editorial: "When Harry Perks speaks, people ought to = listen."
Harry was manager of the $632 million expansion, and the issue was = the
proposed razing of a 10-story office building to make way for it. = The
implication was that if Harry Perks recommended it, it was a = nobrainer.
Harry was in charge of the capital-improvement program for the = Philadelphia
Free Library Foundation, overseeing the five-year program that entails = $30
million of improvements to the main library and 52 branches. He was = also
head of project management for the $30 million capital program for = the
Philadelphia Zoo, including the new primate reserve, and supervised = the
building of Veterans Stadium. He consulted with the Barnes Foundation in = its
move from Merion to the Parkway. Harry joined Day and Zimmerman, the
international Phillybased engineering company, in 1969 as executive = vice
president, and rose to president in 1976, retiring in 1984. He was = deputy
superintendent of the Philadelphia School District from 1967-69, and = was
responsible for all noneducational programs. He supervised the = construction
of about 30 public schools.He was owner of the engineering firm
Perks-Reutter Associates from 1993 until it was sold in 2008. Possibly = his
most harrowing experience was serving as streets commissioner from = 1985-88,
a time when trash collection bogged down and, at one point, 1,500 tons = of
uncollected trash clogged the streets. "People are putting out = trash faster
than I can dispose of it," he once lamented. However, he was = credited with
innovations in trash disposal and winning concessions from the union. = Harry
Perks was born in Woodbury, N.J., the son of Matthew Mark Perks and = the
former Jane Waring. He graduated from Audubon High School and served in = the
Navy during World War II. After the Navy, he graduated from the = Citadel
Military College of South Carolina in 1951, then earned his master’s = degree
in civil engineering from Yale University in 1952. He was married to = the
former Gladys Middleton for 63 years before her death in 2010. He lived = in
Medford, N.J. He is survived by four sons, H. Mark Perks Jr., Chris = Perks,
Matthew Perks and Clark Perks; seven grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren. Services: Are pending.
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