Communities Mourn Loss of Asst. Principal at St. Martin East Elementary

Two communities are mourning the loss of a beloved St. Martin school administrator and Ocean Springs native.

Katherine Michele Perkins died early Saturday of complications due to liver failure. Perkins was the Assistant Principal at St. Martin East Elementary School. The 700 students at the school created a "remember tree" in her honor. Each leaf of the tree is made in the shape of a heart and contains a personal message from a student.

Katie Noel, a counselor at St. Martin East Elementary, says, “Ms. Perkins meant the world to the staff at this school and to the students at this school. She was full of laughter, full of joy, and that was contagious of all of our students here. They loved walking through the door and seeing her every morning, saying goodbye to her, and seeing her in their classrooms.”

Students who are not old enough to write messages stamped a thumb print into the center of the heart.