Our very dear friend, Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall, died yesterday in Elizabethtown, New York, in the hospital where he'd spent 5 days. He was 70, He had been dealing with cancer for several years.
His death marks the end of Frances Perkins' direct lineage, as he was her only grandchild.
He lived to see achieve his mission of creating the Frances Perkins Center, which has thrived and grown in the years since its establishment in 2008. In 2020, he sold the 57-acre Newcastle, Maine homestead, inherited from his mother, to the Center and in 2021 moved to upstate New York.
It was Tomlin who gave the tour of the Brick House I attended in 2012. He immediately inspired me with his grandmother's legacy, leading to my writing of my biography. It is dedicated to him.
He also lived to see the President of the United States sign the proclamation that made the Perkins' ancestral homestead the Frances Perkins National Monument, while he sat at the table at the president's right hand just three weeks ago. He flew to Washington with his husband and sat for nearly two hours despite being in great pain. My partner John (Tomlin's very close friend of 50 years) and I were honored to be with him for two days in the capital, and again to be with him at his bedside on January 4 and 5.
He is survived by his loving husband, Christopher Rice. They were together for 45 years.
Tomlin was one of the warmest and most caring people I've been privileged to know. We will miss him terribly. Rest in peace, dear friend.
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