OFF PAGE ONE
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2021
The diagnosis
Santa:
Continued from Page A1
Many more children had
similar positive experiences
with Saint Nick as they, too,
met him and discussed their
Christmas wish list. Santa
continued to smile, but he
soon grew tired. Helped
to his feet, he was led gin-
gerly to a seat in a nearby
church to rest. At 6:40 p.m.,
he started his break. By the
time he was able to return,
however, the few peo-
ple who remained had left.
Santa was free to go.
On his way out, he spoke
about his enjoyment of this
celebration.
The children made him
laugh, he said, and they
caused him to remember
his own childhood. One
boy, Perkins said, asked
for a train, and Santa was
not sure if the youngster
wanted a toy train or a life-
sized one. Either way, he
said, it made him think of
his own boyhood and the
train his parents gave him.
Perkins, who had met
several dozen children up
to the point of his break
that night, said getting tired
was not ordinary for him.
In years past, when he had
played Santa, he had more
endurance, he added.
“I could go hours,” he
said.
Not this time. Assisted
by another person, he
walked carefully to his
wife, who was waiting for
him in their car. Still smil-
ing, he wished children
“Merry Christmas” as he
walked away.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Tito Munoz, 3, collects a candy cane from Santa Claus during a tree lighting ceremony Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, on Festival Street
in downtown Hermiston. John Perkins, who plays the role of Santa Claus, has stage four pancreatic cancer.
Perkins looks back
Perkins is undergoing
chemotherapy for the can-
cer. Late last month in an
interview, he discussed how
he would like to be known
by his community.
Born Sept. 25, 1951, in
Pendleton, his grandfather,
mom and stepfather raised
him in Hermiston. He said
he enjoyed small-town
life. Agate collecting was
a favorite pastime, and he
called these rocks “sparkles
of hope.” He held to those
sparkles during a childhood
that was not always happy.
An absent father and an
abusive brother, he said,
were just part of his trou-
bles. Also, his family suf-
fered poverty. He explained,
when he turned 14, his
mother no longer qualifi ed
for government assistance.
He dropped out of school
so he could begin work.
He obtained his high
school diploma years later,
however, and walked in cap
and gown with the Herm-
iston High School Class of
2010, he said.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Santa, also know as John Perkins, arrives to Festival Street in
downtown Hermiston Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, for the city of
Hermiston’s Christmas tree lighting.
Santa Claus makes his way through the crowd Thursday, Dec.
2, 2021, during the city of Hermiston’s Christmas tree lighting
event on Festival Street in downtown Hermiston.
Building communities
wife, Jeanne Perkins, made
him the costume he still
wears. It is a suit made with
love, he said.
Other trademarks of the
role were his prior to becom-
ing Santa. The white hairs,
he said, started coming in
while he was a high school
student, and the beard was
fully fl ushed out before he
ever put on the Santa outfi t.
Playing Santa through
the years, he has toured the
region, appearing in and
around Hermiston, even
going to Walla Walla. This
was his fi rst appearance at
the Hermiston tree lighting.
Also, the role has crept into
his daily life, he said, as chil-
dren recognize him as Santa
year-round.
He said people have a
special reaction to Santa
Claus. The character, Per-
kins said, draws people
Perkins had, he said,
“a starvation for life” that
pushed him forward. He
accepted agricultural work,
then he was a truck driver
and later a Navy electronics
technician.
His service was diffi -
cult, he said, as exposure to
Agent Orange in the Viet-
nam War eventually caused
him to lose feeling in his
legs. His service also left
him with post-traumatic
stress disorder, which con-
tinues to aff ect him. Still,
he described himself as a
happy, optimistic person
who tries to share his posi-
tivity with others.
“I enjoy helping people.
To me, if I can go out and
make one person smile, my
work is paid for,” he said.
He credited his wife with
encouraging his pleasant
outlook. From the beginning
of their relationship, he said,
she was a steadying infl u-
ence. Together, they had
two children who gave them
three grandchildren.
A member of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, he described him-
self as a religious man who
believes in community. He
served as mayor of Stan-
fi eld for a term, winning an
election in 1980. He also has
worked as a volunteer fi re-
man and has been an active
part of groups. He has, he
said, helped organize a vet-
eran’s group of motorcycle
riders.
Becoming Santa
Perkins, 13 years ago,
picked up the mantle of
Santa to honor his father-in-
law, Roy Otis, a man who
had been Santa but died. His
together in a spirit of love.
Santa makes them think of
generosity, togetherness and
the need for unity.
He fi rst noticed some-
thing wrong in March,
when he saw a bruise on his
belly, he said. It grew, and
so he saw a doctor.
After tests, he learned he
had stage four pancreatic
cancer, he said.
He admitted he did not
respond well. He cried, and
he initially felt weak for
having done so. It was only
later he recognized there
was no reason to feel bad
about shedding tears.
His fi rst chemotherapy
treatment was “not bad,” he
said, especially because the
doctors warned him about
what he could expect. He
was told it could hurt, and
he might experience chills.
“So far, I haven’t felt
any of them,” he said last
month.
His biggest worry was
that his treatment would
lower his resistance to
germs, he said, and he
would feel sick as a result
of portraying Santa and
seeing children. Still, he
said his doctor approved of
being Santa. Perkins said he
told his doctor he wanted to
“go out and have fun,” and
the doctor said it would be
fi ne.
“I made a commitment
to the city of Hermiston,
and I will do everything I
can,” he said ahead of the
tree lighting. “I would be
happy if I can do this.”
Perkins on Dec. 2 lived
up to his commitment, as
he brought Santa Claus to
Hermiston. Looking for-
ward, he had a few other
things to say.
“I can’t say I’m ready
for everything that is going
to happen, but I can say,
through my faith in Jesus
Christ, I believe in every-
thing that’s going to hap-
pen. And it’s not because
my time is ending. That’s
not what it’s about, it’s
about me being able to give
the rest of my life in mem-
ory, and do it like a man,”
Perkins said.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Children wave to Santa Claus and reach out as he passes
through the crowd Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at the city of
Hermiston’s Christmas tree lighting in downtown Hermiston.
John Perkins, who plays the role of the Saint Nick, was
diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer earlier this year.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Beth Spencer, dressed as Mrs. Claus, and her husband Phil Spencer, dressed as Santa Claus,
pose for photos with bikers Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, during the Echo Toy Run at Good Shepherd
Medical Center in Hermiston.
Bikers:
Continued from Page A1
“We couldn’t let it die,”
Silvani said, adding, “It’s
amazing to see how giving
people are.”
The mob of bikers
parked and dismounted
their bikes. They marched
toward three large bins
and tossed in toy trucks
and stuff ed unicorns. They
laughed hearty laughs and
chatted as the gifts piled up,
nearly overfl owing from
the bins.
As a former employee
of the hospital emer-
gency department, Silvani
recalled a young girl who
was once miserably ill. Sil-
vani found the girl a toy
that had been tucked away
after the toy run. That toy
instantly changed the girl’s
day, she said. That’s why
Silvani said she thinks the
event is essential.
Several people remarked
on how the event shows the
inherent kindness among
bikers, dispelling stereo-
types. Spencer said he
joined the toy run when
Sells started it 18 years ago.
He started being Santa the
year that Sells died. Since
then, he’s led the proces-
sion through town, along-
side his wife, Beth.
“It’s an honor,” he said.
The group this year was
so big it stretched nearly
from Stanfi eld to Hermis-
ton, at least two bikers said.
Sam Bursell, a retired truck
driver, said the commu-
nity was more accommo-
dating this year than ever
before, pulling to the side
of the road and allowing the
group to pass.
“There’s a lot of love
here,” said Bursell, who
sports a long white beard.
Bursell kept a stuff ed
dog, bear and a lion in tow
on his way to the hospital.
He said if he were a child in
the hospital, that’s what he
would have wanted. Bur-
sell said the event exempli-
fi es how giving and caring
Sells was.
“He started a legacy,”
Bursell said, “and it’s still
going on.”
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Jack Cooper deposits a gift in a donation bin Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, during the Echo Toy Run
at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston.
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