Marie Perry

Marie Perry, 86, passed away on July 1, 2014, at Transitions LifeCare (formerly known as Hospice of Wake Country) in the loving presence of her family. She was born in Nash County on May 29, 1928, to the late Inez Finch and Milton Astor Poole.

Marie grew up in a farming community in Nash County where the Finches taught her the value of a close extended family. She spent her teenage years in Washington, DC, during World War II, while her mother worked for the federal government. She spoke fondly of those years living in the city with her mother, going to football games and exploring DC with her friends.

She met her future husband, Willard Samuel Perry (Will), in Louisburg, NC, and they were married in Dillon, SC, on May 17, 1946. They had five children, Willard Samuel Perry, Jr., Susan Parker Perry, David Alan Perry, Leatha Marie Perry and Mark Arrington Perry.

During her children's early years, Marie was active at Highland Methodist Church in Raleigh and in her children's Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. After her children entered school, she began a lengthy career in retail with Mac Josephs in Cameron Village, JCPenney, Sears, Thalhimer's and The Bargain Box, which she managed for ten years. In 1965 she and Will opened an eastern-style NC barbeque restaurant in Cocoa, Florida, which she managed. Those years in Florida exposed the growing Perry children to new schools, new friends, a fervent love of living on the water and the new era of US space exploration at nearby Cape Canaveral.

Continuing an active life into her 60's, Marie was an involved member of the American Business Women's Association (ABWA) and served as a nanny and childcare associate. During her 70's, she worked as an early childhood vision screener at the NC Society to Prevent Blindness, as an administrator for imported goods at RDU International Airport and as a filing assistant at Global Software.

Schooled by life and a tireless enthusiasm for art and learning, Marie enrolled in creative writing classes at NCSU in her 70's. In 1963 artist Clementine Hunter once refused payment from Marie for one of Ms. Hunter's her soon-to-be, world-famous American folk art paintings, saying to Marie, "us artists have got to stick together!" When her children would ask how she acquired her vast knowledge of the works of great writers, countries all over the world, theory and philosophy, Marie would reply,"I read a lot." An eagerness to learn with an open mind was one of the many traits she passed down to her children. Marie considered possibilities of the supernatural and introduced her sons to Silva Mind Control. She believed in and explored the possibility that there was more than one answer to the many questions of life and death.

Marie always said her greatest accomplishment was raising five wonderful children. She cared deeply about their kindness to and support of one another. She did not live a life of grand gestures; she lived a life of many inspiring acts that modeled compassion for others. Throughout her life, she was a role model for kindness, gentleness and grace. She was truly a beautiful woman inside and out, and her inherent sweet nature and warm, unforgettable smile revealed to all who knew her the purity of her soul. She demonstrated a deep, lifelong appreciation for the earth's abundant beauty, a philosophy perhaps born of her Cherokee heritage. An avid gardener, she created a place of beauty and solace in her backyard in Raleigh. She carefully set each stone, shoveled earth and rock and planted trees, shrubs and flowers in a design that afforded a perpetual feast for the eyes.

Preceding Marie in death, along with her parents, were her beloved stepfather Freddy Schnitzer, her former husband Willard Samuel Perry (Will), her son Willard Samuel Perry, Jr. (Sam) and her half-sister Betty Poole Wilson. Surviving to treasure her memory are her half-brother Reggie Poole, her half-sister Diane Poole and the entire Poole family, her sister-in-law Sadie Johnson Perry, her children Susan Rouse and husband Charles, David Perry and wife Cheryl, Leatha Ritchie and husband Bob, and Mark Perry; her grandchildren Sammy Perry (Leslie), Justin Perry, Jennifer Gilliam (Matt), Chris Rouse (Tara), David Simon Perry, Ashley Eisma (Ryan), Katherine Perry, Laura Ritchie, and Matt Ritchie and her five great-grandchildren.

The family of Marie Perry is deeply grateful to all who played a significant role in her life. Your many acts of love, support and kindness will be remembered always.

Please join the Perry family for a celebration of Marie's life at 1:00 on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home 300 St. Mary's Street in Raleigh. If you would like to make a memorial donation in her honor, please do so to the charity of your choice or Hospice of Wake County.