Jim Perkins, 70, passed away peacefully on November 16 ^th , 2021 after a year of declining health.

Jim was born on November 25, 1950, in Wadsworth, Ohio where he was raised until his junior year in high school. While he graduated from Medina High School in 1969 he always considered himself a proud Wadsworth Grizzly. In 1974, he started a career as a Deputy Director of the Medina County Board of Elections but soon became interested in learning calibrating optical comparators and went to school in Vermont working for J&L. He was in service and sales during his time with the company. Then in 1987, he started his own company North Coast Precision selling and servicing optical comparators until his retirement in 2019.

He was passionate about many things in life, especially rocks! He began to cut stones in his Dad's rock shop at age 12. He studied art and design at Cuyahoga Valley Art Center and at the University of Akron and faceting at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts. He published 20+ books and enjoyed private instruction to others as passionate as him about learning to facet stones. He enjoyed writing articles in Lapidary Journal and publishing his custom designed faceted stones under a regular featured article "Off the Dop". He was certified as a Pre-Master in the U.S.F.G Single Stone Competition and a graduate from G.I.A. as an Accredited Jewelry Professional.

He enjoyed traveling and adventures over the years with his family. Specifically, a childhood trip through Route 66, a train trip out West with his Dad and many other adventures throughout his life. His philosophy was "You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"

He is survived by his wife of 50 years (Kim Perkins), daughters Kate Myers (Mike), Betsy Semisorow (Chris) and grandchildren Isabella, Lilly and Dylan.

We would like to thank everyone that helped our Dad this past year at Medina Hospital, Edwin Shaw Rehab Clinic and Willowood Care Center.