Kris Perry Obituary

Kris A Perry

Jun 27, 1948 - Jan 25, 2025

Bradenton, FL

The incomparable Kris A. Perry passed away Saturday, January 25, 2025, after a brief illness at age 76. Perry died peacefully at home in Bradenton, Florida, while admiring his orchid collection and surrounded by his loving family. He was a cherished husband, brother, and uncle.

Perry was born June 27, 1948, at The Bellevue Hospital in Bellevue, Ohio, the eldest son of Tom A Perry and Eilene (née Krueger). He spent his youth on the family farm in Riley Township, excelling in 4-H projects and showing his steers at the annual Sandusky County Fair. He attended Riley School and Ross Junior High School. During what should have been his senior year at Ross Senior High School, Perry was the first American Field Service student from the school to attend classes in Mikkeli, Finland, as a foreign exchange student. His host family was Dr. and Mrs. Jakko Aalto. When he returned from Finland, he chose to complete his senior year at Ross and graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1967.

A gifted student, he received a General Motors Scholarship and was accepted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. While studying at Cornell, he was president of Tau Delta Phi Fraternity. After graduating, he taught at Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, for two years while also holding coaching positions in the school's football and basketball departments.

Perry returned to Clyde, Ohio, in 1973 and formed a farming partnership with his father, which lasted until the elder Perry's death in 1998. Upon hearing of his post-college return, Clyde Senior High School principal John Frontz visited the Perry farm and told Kris that he expected him to report to the high school the following morning to teach a social studies program. When John Frontz spoke, you listened. Perry taught sociology and was an assistant football coach at the high school until 1976. That year, he was asked by coach Roger Freeborn to be an assistant football coach at Sylvania Southview High School. He also scouted for Coach Nancy Hanger at Clyde Senior High School for the girls' volleyball team for many years.

He was considered the Host with the Most at Club 231, B.C. (before Cathy).

He was passionate about all sports, especially baseball, basketball, and football. A true Cleveland Guardians (née Indians) fan and Ohio State proud. He cheered on the Buckeyes with great enthusiasm during their championship game January 20, 2025. Golf was also a favorite sport of his and was a form of relaxation for him and his father. For many years, from mid-April to mid-October, the tractors and combines at the Perry farm stopped at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays for golfing in the Goofer Golfing League at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course. Perry was league champion in 2001 and 2011. He played 18 holes of golf weekly in Bradenton until one month prior to his death.

Perry and his future wife Catherine A. McCue knew each other as children growing up in rural Ohio. After each moved back to the area as adults, they reconnected in 1980 at Turk's Dairy Isle. Six months later, they were engaged. The two were married August 21, 1981, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fremont, Ohio.

Perry was a mensch and served his local communities in many ways throughout his life. He was involved with the Sandusky County Health Department for 25 years, serving as president of the department multiple times. He chaired a position on the Ohio Liquid Disposal Monitoring Committee and was instrumental in helping the Sandusky County Health Department secure renewal levies. Perry sat on the board of the Sandusky Metropolitan Housing Authority under the direction of Robin Kocher. As a very active member for many years, the Clyde Exchange Club was an important part of his life.

He was always a forward-thinking individual, and in 1994, began to plan a merger of the Bellevue, Clyde, and Green Springs elevators, ultimately creating the Country Springs Farmers Co-op. Since then, the organization has grown to include many more small farm co-ops. Perry was voted the first secretary by the board. Throughout his life, he continued to support the co-op for the good of the farming community.

In 1995, while still farming, he began a career in Sandusky, Ohio, with the Small Business Development program. Soon after starting work in Sandusky, a similar position opened in Fremont at Terra Community College. He moved through the ranks at Terra and retired in 2011 as Assistant Director of Workforce Development, Business, and Employment. Perry was instrumental in creating the community garden at Terra, which supplied vegetables to those in need.

In 2011, after having lived through enough harsh northwestern Ohio winters, the Perrys officially became snowbirds, purchasing a condo in Bradenton, Florida. It only took two years for the move to become permanent.

After relocating to Florida, Perry became very involved in the Wildewood Springs community and established a website for the development, which he continued to maintain until one week before his passing. Without his direction, the website would not exist as it is today; he was very proud of that accomplishment. He had a passion for bridge and began a Friday afternoon bridge club in the neighborhood. He sat on the Wildewood Community Board for six years, faithfully representing the Lakeside Drive residents. Gathering the Lakeside neighbors was always important to him so that he could hear what to take to the board to enhance the neighborhood. Thus, he started "Wine Wednesday," which still meets today.

With his wife, Cathy, Perry was a regular patron of the arts in Sarasota, frequently attending screenings, plays, art exhibitions, and more. They enjoyed traveling together, taking several trips to Ireland in addition to memorable visits to Alaska, Portugal, and the Netherlands. A recent highlight was the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam during the peak of the tulip bloom.

Always the farmer with a passion for cultivating anything that grows, he began collecting unusual orchids over two decades ago, counting more than 150 orchids and bromeliads in his courtyard garden as of December 2024. He was a member of Bradenton Orchid Society, the Sarasota Orchid Society, and the International Bromeliad Society. Farming never left him.

His beloved wife is left to cherish his memory along with brothers Jeff (Lanae) of Sandusky, Ohio, and Brad (Lynn) of Omaha, Nebraska; sisters-in-law, Susan McCue Harris of Media, Pennsylvania, and Mary (Karen) McCue of Fremont, Ohio; brother-in-law James (Amy) McCue of Fremont, Ohio; nieces, Adrienne Perry of Omaha, Nebraska, Maeve (Adam) Harris of Newport Beach, California, and Grace (Michael) Harris of Brooklyn, New York; nephews, Ben (Ava) Perry of Golden, Colorado, and Carlton "Mac" (Emily) Harris of Media, Pennsylvania; great-nieces, Maura and Claire Fay of Omaha, Nebraska, and Armaity Perry of Golden, Colorado; and his ever-loyal canine companion, Bob Barker.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Eilene Perry; and his sister, Ginger Perry.

Cremation has taken place.

A Celebration of Life will be from 4-7 p.m. Friday, June 27, 2025, at Crystal Arbor, 1800 E. State Street (Rural King Plaza), Fremont, Ohio. Family and friends are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen (wck.org); Sandusky County Food Pantry, 129 Bidwell Ave., Fremont, Ohio 43420; or Tidewell Hospice, 2504 34th Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205.

Kris would want you to know: "I didn't vote for him."