AGNEW, James Perkins II "Perk," age 91, of Burkeville, peacefully went to be with the Lord on May 21, 2012 following a short illness in the hospital. Perk was the oldest son of the late James Stuart Agnew and Elizabeth Bostick Agnew of Inverness Farm, Burkeville. He was the widower of Martha Meade Hardaway Agnew, to whom he was married for 61 years. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Lillian Agnew Leath of High Point, N.C., and Betty Agnew Rosenberg of Brandermill, Va.; and his brother, William Thomas Agnew of Waverly Farm, Burkeville, Va. He is survived by his youngest sister, Helen Koonce and her husband, Arnold, of High Point, N.C.; and his sister-in-law, Louise Hardaway Boswell of Farmville, Va. He is also survived by his oldest son, James "Stuart" Agnew II of Williamsburg; and his youngest son, James "Jim" Perkins Agnew III and wife, Kim, of Mechanicsville, with whom he lived the past four years. He was the proud grandfather of Dawn Agnew Thomas and husband, Chris, of Jacksonville, N.C., and Daniel Stuart Agnew of Mechanicsville. He had four great-grandchildren, Brittany, David, Catherine and Ayden; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Perk began to help run Inverness Dairy Farm in Burkeville, Va., in his mid-teens due to his father's early death. Perk was well known as an excellent dairyman, winning several milking records. He also showed prize cows up and down the Eastern Seaboard. When he retired from the farm in the early 1990s, he worked as a handyman and substitute mail carrier for the Burkeville and Green Bay post offices. He later became a full-time mail carrier for the same area. Perk was a great storyteller about his days at Inverness and his family and friends. He loved the farm and the land so much that he gave each field and pond a name. He loved God's creation, especially the animals, birds and flowers. He fed the birds and tended the flowers up to the day before he went into the hospital. He was especially fond of Blondie, Jim and Kim's Tibetan Spaniel, and loved giving her rides on his walker. He was a true, kind, Southern gentleman. Perk had a great faith in God and was a member and elder at Burkeville Presbyterian Church in Burkeville. He served as a deacon and then elder for 65 years. He attended Salem Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsville, Va., the last four years, and was loved immediately by many because of his sweet and loving nature. Perk gave and did things for people quietly as to not draw attention or praise to himself. Perk was a loving husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle and a friend to all. He was greatly loved and will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to know him. A private memorial will be held for the family at a later date.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.