Mary Bird Perkins was born in Baton Rouge in 1927 to Mary Herron Bird and Paul Dorsey Perkins. Those who knew her describe her as warm, generous and caring. In 1966, Mary Bird Perkins tragically passed away at the age of 39. A few years later, Paul D. Perkins donated a major gift of land, which was the capstone for the original capital campaign for the Mary Bird Perkins Radiation Treatment Center. Perkins gave the land in his daughter’s memory and the Foundation board unanimously voted to honor her memory by naming the facility after her.