Above: Jim with daughters, Jamie and Charlotte, ca 1962 (top), with great-granddaughter Maria in 2015 (bottom).
James Edward “Jim” Perry, 89, died Dec. 17, 2017 in Portland, Ore.
He was born May 3, 1928 in Taunton, Mass., into a household comprised of his mother, Constance Gracia, and his immigrant grandparents, Constance and Joseph Gracia, who journeyed from Spain by way of Portugal at the turn of the 20th century. Jim spoke only Spanish until entering school. He was the eldest of six children and shouldered heavy responsibility for his brother and four sisters.
The history Jim witnessed was remarkable.
He recalled, as a boy of 10, being sent out into an approaching hurricane to fetch kerosene for his family. When “The Perfect Storm” became a best-selling book and described the devastating Great New England Hurricane of 1938, we realized that was the storm he had survived — and which haunted him in nightmares for decades.
As a teenager during World War II, he found work at Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, where — ever friendly and curious about everyone he met — he conversed with the German soldiers who had been taken prisoners-of-war and were being held in his hometown.
His twin passions, music and baseball, were easily accessed near home. As a boy, his vocal talents led him to lead roles in the school choir. Later as a movie usher, Jim was repeatedly exposed to the best movie scores and songs, many of which he would memorize by ear. As an older teen, he made a habit of traveling to Boston, where one theater offered a movie and a renowned Big Band concert, all for a quarter. Even in his late 80s would Jim spontaneously whistle a series of entire songs from his seemingly bottomless repertoire and astound anyone listening.
His lifelong love of baseball — especially the Boston Red Sox — was forged during youthful visits to Fenway Park, where he recalled his days behind the “Green Monster” watching his idol, Ted Williams, and greats including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He became an L.A. Dodgers season ticket holder and mega-fan in the era of Koufax and Drysdale when he lived in California, and the Diamondbacks’ biggest booster during his retirement years in Arizona. Taking in countless MLB spring training games near his home was an annual thrill for him. Still, the Red Sox were always No. 1 in his heart, and after lamenting for decades that he would never see them win a World Series, he lived long enough to celebrate three titles.
A high school dropout, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas, through the Korean War era, most notably as a drill instructor. He earned his GED in the Air Force and found the love of his life, Donna Weaver of Beatrice, Neb., a stunning and brilliant WAF — a member of the U.S. Women in the Air Force. They married on Dec. 24, 1949, just four months after falling in love at first sight.
After the birth of two daughters and Jim’s discharge, the family settled in Southern California, where Jim honed his talent for art at Los Angeles City College on the G.I. Bill and shaped his skills into a 40-year career as a commercial artist/graphic designer in the defense industry in California and Arizona. His work received national attention, including his winning entry for a design contest being emblazoned on the side of every U.S. Post Office delivery vehicle one year in the 1960s. He was also honored for his designs annually of the program cover for the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College Relays in the ’60s-’70s.
Rising to become art director at General Dynamics/Pomona in the 1960s, Jim always took his self-improvement seriously. He became involved with Toastmasters International, and won a number of state and local titles for his distinguished public speaking. A New Deal Democrat at heart, he became involved in politics, campaigning for John F. Kennedy and witnessing JFK’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 1960. Ironically, he was on work assignment in Washington, D.C., both at the time of JFK’s inauguration in January 1961 and when the president was assassinated in November 1963. Jim was part of both the crowds for the Inaugural Parade and the heartbreaking arrival of the hearse bearing the late president’s body at the White House.
He spent years working with the engineers on the Apache Helicopter Project and also created the design of an Apache warrior on horseback which was used as their official emblem. A sculptural depiction of Jim’s design can still be seen on the Falcon Field building in Mesa.
Jim was ever the devoted family man to both his wife and children and to his wife’s large extended family — and later to his sons-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While raising his two daughters, Donna and he planned a meaningful family vacation every summer filled with educational opportunities and happy memories. With movie-star looks and immense charm, Jim “never met a stranger,” as the saying goes, and had dozens of friends in his longtime community of Velda Rose Estates in Mesa, Arizona, and at his daily “corner store” hangout at Basha’s grocery near his home.
He never held a grudge and shrugged off hardships, such as a frequently Dickensian upbringing, or health problems of later years, with a bit of sarcasm and a twinkle in his famously blue eyes.
His sociable nature — and the most challenging crossword puzzles — kept his mind sharp as he approached 90. His voice was deceptively young, and his unmistakably artistic handwriting never faltered, making even a simple envelope he addressed a thing of beauty. His handmade birthday and occasion cards, drawings and caricatures are treasured keepsakes, and his oldest great-granddaughter will never forget the special art lesson he gave her.
Jim had an artist’s eye up until his final days. He spent time observing the outdoor beauty on scenic drives or just watching the changing colors of the leaves through his window. He never failed to comment with delight.
Jim is survived by his daughters, Charlotte Aguilar (Carlos), of Bellaire, Texas, and Jamie Carter (Ed) of Portland, Ore., five grandchildren, Emily Dawn Carter, David Carter, Kevin Carter, Victoria Aguilar Hand and Gabriel Aguilar; and three great-grandchildren, Maria Elena Suarez-Aguilar, Sophia Ashley Hand and Dylan James Hand. He is preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Donna Weaver Perry.
Jamie, who with her husband, Ed, managed Jim’s care during his final time, is planning a memorial service and internment for him and Donna in the late spring at the Prescott National Cemetery in Arizona. She encourages anyone interested in attending to contact her at [email protected] to be notified of the details when they are confirmed.
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