Donald A. Perera ’59

Don died Feb. 23, 2017, at home in Rocklin, Calif., following an accident.

“D,” as he was known, grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y., in the company of Tom Banks, Bruce Fredrikson, John Freie, and Rob Hendon. Abandoning these playmates in 10th grade, Don entered the school attended by his mother’s family since its establishment in 1799, Westtown Friends, in Westtown, Pa. He rejoined his childhood friends when they all entered Princeton together in 1955, then left them again when he withdrew in 1957, succumbing to the lure of the West. While at Princeton, Don played freshman soccer and joined Cloister Inn. His father, Charles, was in the Class of 1926.

Settling in Wyoming, Don tried his hand at ranching, quitting “involuntarily due to financial problems.” He entered the University of Wyoming, earning a degree in business administration in 1968, and joined Ford Motor Co. in St. Louis. There he met and married Jean, “an Iowa farm girl whom he loved very much.” Transferred by Ford to California in 1978, Don retired from the company in 1999. He then successfully took up the cause of protecting local Native American lands and artifacts from development.

Don is survived by his wife, Jean; daughter Christine; son Douglas; three sisters; and three grandchildren. We have sent condolences.