marianist.com/donate  •  7
On weekends, visiting priests stopped by the 
parish to celebrate Mass, which is how Marianist 
Father William “Bill” Meyer entered the picture 
for the Payne family. It wasn’t long before they 
invited him over to dinner, cultivating a lasting 
friendship. In 2010, he was one of four priests to 
concelebrate Joanna and Keith Perkins’ wedding. 
“At the time of her wedding, Joanna gave 
Monsignor Tom Murphy and me each a gift: an 
elegant stole, which was lovingly crafted with 
needlepoint,” Fr. Bill said. “I have always known 
Joanna to be an extremely faith-filled, generous, 
family-centered person, very supportive of her 
brother, Andrew, who has special needs.” 
Perkins, a Trinity University graduate with 
degrees in engineering science and chemistry, 
is a self-described “family manager,” devoting 
most of her time these days to raising her 11-
year-old daughter, Claire, and 6-year-old son, 
Paul, who also has special needs. In addition to 
caretaking for her brother, she helps her mother, 
who lives in Texas Hill Country on acreage that  
includes chickens, sheep, and a donkey, and a 
beautiful oratory that Msgr. Tom helped build.  
Where does Perkins’ spirit of giving come 
from? She gets it from her mom, Janet Payne.  
“I was extremely edified at the time of my 
50th Jubilee Celebration, when Janet gave a 
very generous gift to Marianists in my name, 
to care for our elderly and infirm brothers,”  
Fr. Bill said. “I remember her telling me that 
the faith and fidelity of these men were an  
inspiration to her.” 
Perkins called her family’s faithful philan­
thropy “not just giving money but supporting 
an infrastructure into the future beyond what  
I will know. We can’t take it with us, so it’s 
what we’re supposed to do,” she said.  
Her scientific education landed her a job in  
research and development at a San Antonio-based 
medical device company. It continues to inform 
her “insatiable curiosity” about much of life’s 
wonders — such as the creation of our universe.    
“Many people might not know that the Big 
Bang Theory was hypothesized by a Catholic 
priest (Georges Lemaître),” she said. “So much 
of science and our understanding of it has been 
positively influenced by religious people.” 
When asked to name a fun fact about her that 
people might not know, Perkins answered: her 
passion for music, especially organ music. And 
when asked what kind of music most concep­
tualizes God for her, her soft-spoken response: 
“I’m a big fan of Bach.” 
But this is not a story about music or even 
about the intersection between faith and science. 
It’s about the simple — and profound — act of 
consistent generosity.  
“I believe folks respond to a heartfelt, personal 
invitation to a shared friendship or partnership in 
a common mission,” Fr. Bill said. “Participation 
in this type of a relationship is an invitation to 
a shared vision, which is about the healing and 
betterment of the world.”  ■ 
 
Alex Z. Salinas is a writer from San Antonio.
An oratory on Janet 
Payne’s acreage in Texas 
Hill Country includes a 
beautiful stained-glass  
window and an altar.
BECOME PART OF 
MARY’S MISSION: 
To support the  
Marianists and their 
ministries, please 
visit marianist.com or 
call 1.800.348.4732.

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