PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Southeast Texas is mourning the loss of Richard Perkins, an internationally recognized opera singer and beloved community figure from Port Arthur, who died of lung cancer the weekend of August 9 at age 79.

Perkins, the first Black opera singer from Southeast Texas, was known both for his powerful voice and for his deep involvement in local life. Friends, colleagues and admirers remember him as a larger-than-life presence whose influence reached far beyond the stage.

“In our community, he was an amazing, immense presence,” said his partner, Krysta Coffey. “Whenever he walked into a room, people would turn around to look at him.”

Known as “Frog” to childhood friends, Perkins graduated from Lincoln High School before joining Prairie View A&M University’s a cappella gro

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