George Washington "Buck" Perry

George “Buck” Washington Perry, 100, passed away peacefully, April 1, 2020, with family at his side at his home in Kannapolis.  Due to the potential risk of virus exposure for guests, a memorial service will be held at a later date when we can safely all gather together again. Burial will be private at Salisbury National Cemetery Annex.

George Washington Perry was born February 22, 1920, sharing his name and birthday with the first president George Washington.  He weighed 2 ½ pounds at birth and was the 6th of 7 children born to Gibson Farr Perry and Minnie Withers Perry.  

               After completing high school, his parents signed the papers for him to enter the Army Air Corps in 1939.  He was 1 of 5 boys from his community that went into the service, and the only one in his group that was selected for the Air Corps.  For his first deployment he was picked up in a WW1 era transport ship and taken down to Panama, through the canal, and on to the Pacific. While there, he served as an aircraft mechanic, working on the following aircraft: P-26A, P-39, and the P-40.  

               After 3 ½ years, in 1943, he was sent back to Hamilton Field, California. He volunteered for gunnery school which was located in Las Vegas.  By this time, he was a Staff Sergeant. He spent approximately 6 weeks in Las Vegas for training in the upper turret gunner of the B-17.  Once training was finished, he shipped off to Tampa, Florida where the flight crew was assembled and began training on a new B-17. In the fall of 1944, he arrived in Europe where he began flying missions over Germany.  Most missions were around 8 hours, the longest was 10 hours. In order to put this in perspective, the Memphis Belle, one of the most storied B-17’s of WW2, was awarded the privilege of the crew returning home after completing 25 missions.  George flew 35.

               After finishing his missions in Europe and returning back to the United States, he landed in Ft. Bragg and was discharged after serving 5 years, 7 months, and 2 days.  While out of active duty, he met his wife Dorothy (Dot) at a Masonic Party in Charlotte on July 4, 1945. They married on October 27, 1945, and remained devoted for 55 years until her death.  He honored his wedding vows “in sickness and in health” and provided Dot excellent care through her battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

     He stayed out of the military for 1 year and went back in to serve in the US Air Force. He was stationed in Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, New York, and Turkey.  During this time, he also served in the Korean Conflict for 1 year where he flew a B-26 weather reconnaissance plane. While in Texas, he worked in the training command headquarters where he received an outstanding achievement award for a cost reduction project where he helped the Air Force save over $1 million.

      In 1946, they had their first and only son Richard or “Rick”.  He served in the Air Force for 20 years.  He went on to work with the Department of Defense as a Russian Linguist, where he served out the remainder of his career. He passed away in May 2005 from a battle with ALS.

     George retired from the United States Airforce as a Senior Master Sergeant, after serving 30 years and 25 days at age 50.  After retirement, he went to Cannon Mills where he got a job in the engineering department working in the air conditioning section.  He left the Mill to attend Rowan Tech, where he received an electrician certificate.  He applied his learning and re-wired his whole house. During his retirement, he enjoyed tinkering, gardening, and spending time with family and his only grandchild, Regina.  George was also an active member of St. Johns Reformed Church in Kannapolis and a Mason of 69 years.

     He met his second wife, Betty Sherill, in 2001 at a support group for widows and widowers. They were married for almost 17 years and traveled the world together. She passed in September of 2018. 

       In the two months prior to his passing, his family was able to make three of his wishes come true. He celebrated his 100th birthday with family and friends. He renewed his driver’s license one more time. With the help of the Honorable Richard Hudson, George was invited to meet the President Donald J Trump at his March Rally in Charlotte. He truly enjoyed life and remained independent almost to the very end. 

     Aside from his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife Dorothy Perry in 2000; his son Richard Perry in 2005; his second wife Betty Sherrill Perry; his six siblings; a great-great granddaughter, Kaidence Madison. George is survived by his granddaughter, Regina Perry of Kannapolis; daughter in law Barbara Bayer of Amarillo, Texas; three great grandchildren, Ruth Bollinger, Kassandra Henley and Brandon Henley; and three great-great grandchildren Gauge and Jackson Bollinger and Anastasia Henley; many Perry nieces and nephews.

     The family of George Washington Perry would like to express sincere appreciation to the Honorable Richard Hudson, Angie Harrison with Trellis Supportive Care, and The Independence Fund for all their support. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to St. John’s Reformed Church Kannapolis, www.outstjohns.org or The Independence Fund, www.independencefund.org

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