Elizabeth Edith Perry

Elizabeth was born on December 13, 1933 in the Lodge at Watson’s Harverene Resort on the South Shore of Lake Chelan in Washington State to J. Howard and Virginia Watson. She was baptized at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Chelan and remained a member all her life. During WWII, she attended Holy Names Academy in Seattle, when it was a Catholic Boarding School, and later graduated from Highline High School. Liz attended WSC (now WSU) and was working for the telephone company to earn money for college in 1953 when she met Jim Perry, a Military MP stationed in Seattle. They were engaged just prior to Jim being deployed to Korea and were married when he returned from his military service in February of 1955.

They settled in San Jose, California where Jim attended San Jose State College and later became a Police Officer for Santa Clara PD. After an on-the-job injury, Jim made a career change and fell in love with the field of Stained Glass. In 1971, Jim and Liz relocated their family to Issaquah, Washington and opened their own business called Perry Stained Glass Studio which they operated until Jim’s death in 2018. Jim was a master craftsman in fabrication and installation and Liz was the painter of the traditional church windows and bookkeeper for the business. Both Liz and Jim were very involved in the Stained Glass Association of America, attending many conferences and contributing their knowledge to the Association’s training manuals. Liz served on the Education Committee and the Board of Directors. She served as President of the SGAA for 2 years (1986 – 1988).

Jim and Liz built their “retirement” home on a piece of land that was part of the original homestead of the Watson Family on Lake Chelan. While they never actually retired from their Stained Glass business, they did begin to spend more time in Chelan as Jim’s health declined. Liz was an active member of the Lake Chelan Historical Society and spent many hours in the Museum doing research and writing history notes.

Liz (Elizabeth Watson Perry) was the Author of 3 books about the history of the Chelan area:

We Left Because the Creek Went Dry (A History of the First Creek District)

If These Logs Could Talk (A History of St Andrews Episcopal Church), and

In Our Own Words: A Collection (A collection of memoirs written by women settlers at Lake Chelan)

Liz is survived by her son Jim (Roxanne); daughters Susan (Kerry) and Diane (David), her granddaughter Sara (Cyrus) and her Great-Grandchildren Colton and Cheyenne and many other members of the family.

We would especially like to thank the staff at the Heart of Gold Adult Family Home in Morton, Washington for the excellent and loving care they provided in Liz’s last months.

At her request, there will be no service. A celebration of her life is being planned for the spring in Chelan.

Memorial Donations can be made to: The Lake Chelan Historical Society and Museum, 204 E. Woodin Ave, Chelan, WA 98816 or St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, 120 E. Woodin Ave, Chelan, WA 98816.