JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass. The Very Rev. Perry Roberts Williams died peacefully Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at his home. Born June 13, 1924, in Rockville Center, Long Island, N.Y., Perry was raised in Hempstead and Garden City, N.Y. He was a 1941 graduate of St. Paul’s School, Garden City, N.Y.; was a member of the Class of 1945 at Amherst College and earned a bachelor’s degree in music and English in 1947, having taken two years off from his college education to serve in the Pacific during World War II, as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Perry went on to earn a master’s in music from Yale University in 1949 and a master’s in divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1951. During his illuminating career as an Episcopal priest, Perry served as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Sharon, Pa.; associate rector at Christ Church, Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; and rector at Grace Episcopal Church, Orange, N.J. Highlights of his career include serving seven years as rector of Emmanuel Church, Geneva, Switzerland, and 21 years as dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland. For more than 50 years, Perry and his family spent summer vacations at Undercliff Cottages, Cape Rosier. A longtime member of Bucks Harbor Yacht Club, Perry was particularly active in the club’s tennis program, where he created and organized the popular, multi-generational annual Tennis Bash. For more than a decade, Perry also served as vicar to Our Lady of the Evergreens Chapel, Dog Island Point. Perry was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Anne Ballentine Williams. Perry is survived by his son, David B. Williams and daughter-in-law, Robin Mahler of Bethesda, Md., formerly of Jamaica Plain, Mass.; his daughter, Sarah C. Williams Wilson and son-in-law, Joseph D.C. Wilson III of Sewickley, Pa.; his son, Jeffrey P. Williams and daughter-in-law, Zeva Ellman Williams of Oakland, Calif.; his sister, Gwendolyn Spencer and brother-in-law, Richard Spencer of Bloomfield, Conn.; his grandchildren, Dylan and Graham Terhune, Emily and Jane Williams, and Stella and Molly Williams; a niece, nephews and numerous great-nieces. A memorial service will be held 11:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, Mass., with a reception held after in the church hall. The service will be preceded by private interment at Forest Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Perry’s memory may be made to Greater Food Bank of Boston, P.O. Box 55860, Boston, MA 02205-5860 or the Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472.
VERY REV. PERRY ROBERTS WILLIAMS
