Richard Gardner Perry ’45

Dick entered Princeton from Kent School. He married Allene Ferguson before departing for service as a torpedo bomber pilot with the Navy, seeing extensive combat in the Pacific theater, and being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.  

Returning from the war, he joined the manufacturing firm of Gilbert & Bennett in Georgetown, Conn. He became active in local affairs in his hometown of Waccabuc, N.Y., serving for many years on the local board of education. He was a longtime member of the Waccabuc Country Club, where he enjoyed playing golf and tennis.  

Dick resumed his studies and received a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College two decades after his daughter Anne (“Dixie”) attended the same institution. Dick spent his working career at Gilbert & Bennett and retired only when the firm was bought out by a group of investors from Kuwait. He then pursued outdoor sports, including rock climbing and mountain climbing.  

Allene predeceased Dick in 2006. He is survived by Dixie; two grandchildren, Kathryn and Richard Todd; and his brothers, Samuel and Edward. The class expresses its sympathy to the family on the loss of this valued classmate.