Leanne Margaret Burford Perkins
Sep 29, 1964 -
May 6, 2025
Leanne Margaret Burford Perkins died, at age 60, on May 6, 2025, in Santa Rosa, Calif. Leanne was born on Sept. 29, 1964, in Novato, Calif., to Thomas and Suzanne Burford. She was the youngest of five girls. Her beloved father, Thomas, was a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and this meant a childhood of constant motion — Leanne grew up on Rowland Boulevard in Novato, but moved to Rocklin, Calif.; Gig Harbor, Wash.; and San Antonio, Texas. She was a gifted ballet dancer and loved her four big sisters fiercely.
She graduated from Gig Harbor High School in 1982, and got her legal secretarial certificate from Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Wash., shortly thereafter. While working at McGavick Graves, PS in Tacoma, she met and fell in love with a second-year law student named Doug Perkins. They were married at the historic Mission San Rafael Arcangel on Aug. 20, 1988, and first lived in Anchorage, Alaska, where they raised their two amazing children: Susannah, born Nov. 13, 1992, and Megan, born July 24, 1994.
After staying home for a number of years to raise her kids, Leanne worked as a legal secretary at Pletcher & Slaybaugh, Guess & Rudd, and primarily Atkinson Conway & Gagnon. She was a devoted and passionate mother to Susannah and Megan and a vital and vibrant member of her community, beloved by her wide group of friends in Anchorage. When Susannah and Megan graduated from high school and left Alaska for the Big Apple, Leanne moved to Medford, Ore., for several years, and later returned to Windsor, Calif., in 2016, to be nearer her family. There, she worked as a legal secretary for several law firms in the area until her death.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called late-onset Pompe disease, which she battled for the next seven years of her life with her characteristic tenacity and sense of humor. It didn't slow her down much, either: in the last decade of her life, she travelled with friends and family to Las Vegas, New York City, Dillon Beach, Phoenix, Hawaii, and more.
She was predeceased by her father, Thomas Burford; and mother, Suzanne Burford. She is survived by her children, Susannah and Megan Perkins; sisters, Lynn Schenck, Laurie Burford, Lisa Burford and Leslie Burford; and her former husband, Doug Perkins. A memorial service to celebrate Leanne's life will be held on June 21, 2025, at 2 p.m., at the Windsor Community United Methodist Church in California.
