William "Bill" Overton Perry

Bill was born on January 22, 1938 to Charles and Ledra Perry in Mullin, Texas. Bill and his family later moved to the Perry Homestead in Liberty Hill, Texas where the family operated a dairy farm until he graduated from high school as the Salutatorian. Bill graduated from Southwest Texas University in San Marcos with a master’s degree in Chemistry in 1962. Shortly after graduation, he married the love of his life, Marie, on August 24, 1962 and the couple moved to Corpus Christi where Bill worked for PPG as a Chemist for 4 years and started a family. Bill and Marie moved to Lake Jackson in 1966 after he accepted a position as a Research Chemist with Dow Chemical. During his tenure, he was credited with multiple patents and upon his retirement in 1993 he was honored with a prestigious technical excellence award. After a brief retirement, Bill had more to offer and returned to work 3 more years for ChemWay in Bay City before entering into full retirement in 1997. Bill had a passion for his career as a Chemist and did not feel that this was truly work. He was often heard telling people “I am Wild Bill from Liberty Hill, never worked and never will” which was a reference to how much he enjoyed his profession.

Bill had a strong Christian faith and was a follower of Jesus Christ starting at a young age. Bill was an active member at First Baptist Church in Lake Jackson since 1966. He was most proud of his 16 years of volunteer mission work with the Port Ministry in Freeport. During this time, Bill distributed the Gospel of John and shared his love for Jesus with nearly 7,000 seafarers from around the world. Bill took time to document each of these individuals that he met with and was sure to tell them that “Jesus loves you” in many different languages. Through this work, he formed many relationships which led to a 5 weeks long mission trip to Turkey, multiple mission trips in Bulgaria, and Mexico. Bill made an impact on many people that he met and never stopped spreading the gospel, even witnessing to his caregivers in his final days.

After his relationship with Jesus, Bill’s next high priority was his family. He was a loving husband to his wife Marie for over 58 years and a strong father to their three children. Bill cherished his wife Marie, kissed her every day, and made sure to tell his children that they had the most beautiful mom in the world. Bill dedicated his time to his family going to church, instilling values and life lessons, coaching and attending countless sporting events, fishing, hunting, traveling, or just having regular deep and meaningful conversations either while sitting on the porch, the beach, or on the side of a mountain. He still had time to develop a wide range of interests and hobbies such as sailing, golf, rebuilding cars, reading, studying history, following politics, guns, meeting new people, and even building many clocks later in life. Bill was able to travel to many countries with his wife and family and enjoyed meeting people from different cultures. Bill’s family loved him dearly and he stressed the importance of the family unit.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Ledra; his sister, Shirley Grove; and his brother Charles “Bubba” Perry. Bill is survived by his wife, Marie Perry; daughter, Linda Owens (husband, Glenn); son, Brent Perry (wife, Debra); son, John David Perry (wife, Kristi). Bill is also survived by 11 Grandchildren and 9 Great Grandchildren.

Visitation for friends and family will be held at Restwood Funeral Home in Clute, Texas on Friday, July 23 starting at 12:30. A funeral service will immediately follow starting at 1:30. The family will have a private graveside burial service in Liberty Hill, Texas.