Joe J. Perkins was born in Brookston, Texas in 1874. He was a successful businessman, operating several mercantile stores, and also invested in coal mining, ranching, and oil development. Lois Craddock Perkins, a native of China Springs, Texas attended Southwestern University from 1908 to 1911. She became a teacher and moved to Wichita Falls in 1913. The two were married in 1918.
The Perkins family’s interest in Southern Methodist University dates back to the school’s founding. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins were among the newly-chartered university’s earliest supporters in 1913. Over the years, their contributions made possible the construction of the Perkins administration building, the Joe Perkins Gymnasium, and enlarged resources for the university libraries. A series of generous donations led to the construction of new School of Theology facilities and an enhanced endowment. In honor of their support of SMU, the Board of Trustees renamed the School as the Perkins School of Theology.
Joe Perkins served on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, as well as the SMU Board of Trustees (on which he sat for over thirty years). He was inducted into the Methodist Hall of Fame for his philanthropy, which extended to various other Methodist causes in Texas, including Dallas Methodist Hospital, the Waco Methodist Home, and the North Texas Conference Pension Fund. He died in 1960 and was buried in Wichita Falls.
Perkins School of Theology became the first school within SMU to admit black students in the early 1950s, due in no small part to Lois Perkins’s advocacy. Mrs. Perkins’ generosity also extended to her alma mater, Southwestern University. She donated money for a new university chapel named in her honor, which was dedicated in 1950. She also served on the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, and was elected to the Methodist Hall of Fame. In 1970, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Southwestern University in recognition of her many philanthropic pursuits. Lois Perkins died on November 30, 1983, and was buried in Wichita Falls.
Their daughter, Elizabeth Perkins Prothro, was born in Dallas, Texas on September 7, 1919. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia before coming to SMU, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939. She married Charles Nelson Prothro, a Wichita Falls oilman, in 1938. The couple had three sons, Joe, Mark, and Charles Vincent Prothro, and a daughter, Kay Prothro Yeager.
Charles and Elizabeth Prothro continued the philanthropic work of her parents. Together, they made several contributions to Southwestern University. Elizabeth Prothro sat on the Board of Regents at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. She also gave her time to Sweet Briar College, her alma mater, as well as to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the University of Texas, and religious and civic organizations in Wichita Falls.
At SMU, Elizabeth Prothro not only made financial contributions to the improvement of the Perkins School of Theology, but also served as a member of several university groups and governing bodies. A donation totaling $7 million made by Mr. and Mrs. Prothro in 1997 provided for theology scholarships and the renovation of Perkins Chapel. In 2009, SMU completed construction of the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall. The new facility, as part of a broader building program for the School, was made possible with an initial $6 million gift from the Perkins-Prothro Foundation.
Mrs. Prothro, a collector of rare Bibles since 1963, donated her collection to Bridwell Library in 1996. The collection consists of nearly five hundred volumes, in almost one hundred languages, spanning eight centuries.
Like her parents, Elizabeth Prothro was recognized for the many educational enhancements she fostered. Among the awards she received were the Southwestern University Medal in 2006, the SMU Mustang Award (which was also awarded to Mr. Prothro), two honorary doctorates (Southwestern and SMU), and the Medallion of Merit from the Texas Methodist Foundation in 2004.
Charles Prothro died in 2001. Elizabeth Perkins Prothro died in Wichita Falls on May 23, 2009.
Sources:
McCann, Ian.
Perkins School of Theology records finding aid. Southern Methodist University DeGolyer Library: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00117/smu-00117.html. Accessed June 14, 2011.
Vernon, Walter N.
Vernon, Walter N.
The Collection on the Perkins and Prothro Families comprises 5.5 linear feet of papers, the majority of which relate to their involvement with SMU over a fifty-year time period. The material is arranged in alphabetical order within each series.
A major portion of the collection is correspondence between the Perkins and Prothros and school administrators and staff. Much of the correspondence is with Deans Eugene Hawk and Joseph Quillian, and Bridwell Library Director Decherd Turner. Other topics include specific campus organizations in which the two families held membership: the Board of Trustees, Colophon, the SMU Decanal Committee, Presidential Search Committee, and the Theology Task Force.
Files containing correspondence, printed material, and news clippings on the dedication of the Perkins School of Theology; university Presidents Willis Tate, Paul Hardin, James Zumberge, L. Donald Shields, and A. Kenneth Pye; and the university libraries are also included.
A small amount of material details other institutions of higher learning that were the beneficiaries of the Perkins and Prothro families’ beneficence: Southwestern University, Sweet Briar College, and the University of Texas.
The collection is organized into 5 series:
Friends of SMU Libraries/Colophon records, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (SMU 1992.0162).
Perkins, Lois Craddock.
Perkins School of Theology records, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (SMU 1991.0051).
Southern Methodist University campus building files, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (SMU 1997.0290).
The collection is open for research use. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the Bridwell Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
[Identification of item], Collection on the Perkins and Prothro families, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.
Acquired, 1997-2009. The exact dates of donation and the circumstances under which Bridwell Library acquired these papers are not known.
The material in this collection was originally divided between two named collections: the Collection on Joe. J. and Lois Perkins and the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro papers. Due to their related provenance and subject matter, the two collections were merged into one to ensure easier access for researchers.
This collection was arranged and described in 2011 by Paul H. Santa Cruz.
Paul H. Santa Cruz, 2011.
Ada Negraru, 2011.
This first series consists of forty-six folders and is made up of correspondence with Perkins School of Theology Deans Eugene Hawk and Joseph Quillian, as well as correspondence Joe J. and Lois Perkins received following their donation to the School of Theology in 1945 and the dedication of the new buildings in 1951. Also included is correspondence with Southwestern University President J.N.R. Score and material on the Perkinses’ other philanthropic interests.
The second series, consisting of sixty-one folders, contains papers that document Elizabeth Prothro’s service to SMU, and Perkins School of Theology in particular, from the 1960s through the 1980s. Included are reports and printed material from Perkins School of Theology and university organizations of which she was a member, such as Colophon/Friends of SMU Libraries and the Theology Task Force; and reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence generated through her position as a university trustee.
The third series, totaling ten folders, is mostly correspondence between Mr. and Mrs. Prothro and Decherd Turner, the Director of Bridwell Library from 1950-1980.
Series 4 consists of five folders of photographs related to the Perkinses’ and Prothros’ involvement with Perkins School of Theology. It is important to note that not all dates of, and people in, the photographs are identified. Additional photographs in this collection can be found in Box 962A, File 10:
The final series contains eight folders of oversize materials that mostly relate to either Series 1: Joe J. and Lois Perkins, or Series 2: Elizabeth Perkins Prothro.