Elizabeth “Cheeky” Perkins Draper, 90, a longtime Squirrel Islander, died of heart failure at Mercy Hospital in Portland on Aug. 11, 2016.

Daughter of Dr. Franklin H. Perkins and Mrs. Grace Wyman Perkins, Cheeky was raised in Lancaster, Massachusetts where her father started the school bearing his name. She was educated at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts and trained at the Boston Children’s Hospital School of Nursing. She went on to study the organ at Longy School of Music.

Cheeky was predeceased by three of her four children, Elizabeth Draper Graycar, Copeland M. Draper III, and Edward Haskins Draper.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years, C. Mitchell Draper of Walpole, Massachusetts and her daughter Ellen Draper Pendergast of Weston, Massachusetts. She was proud to call herself “Grand Cheeky” to her 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Mitch and Cheeky raised their children and lived most of their married life in Milton, Massachusetts, moving to Blueberry Cove in Yarmouth, Maine where they spent 20 years before moving to New Pond Village in Walpole, Massachusetts.

Starting in 1957, her summers were spent on Squirrel Island where the family gathered at “Our House” and she could enjoy her extended family. It was here that she was most happy. Cheeky served on the board of overseers, was a director of the Squirrel Island Association, and was on the board of the Squirrel Island Preservation Foundation. Of all her accomplishments she was most fulfilled by her service to the Squirrel Island Chapel where she started the “All Island Service” in 1990, oversaw the 2004 renovations, held hymn sings, organized and directed the choir, was an organist, and served many years as president. Cheeky will also be remembered for her hours volunteering as a home health aide in the Boothbay region and as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

There will be a memorial service at the Squirrel Island Chapel on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 1:15 pm.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland, Maine. 

To view Cheeky’s memorial page or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to the Squirrel Island Chapel, Squirrel Island, ME 04570