Obituary of Donald Alan Perry

Donald Alan Perry passed away on October 21, 2018, at the age of 80, after an extended illness.  He passed away quietly with his wife, Lois Anderson and family by his side.

            Don was born on May 11, 1938, and was raised in Gary, Indiana.  After graduation from Lew Wallace High School, in May of 1956, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was trained to be a weather observer.  While stationed in Selma, Alabama, he met and married Dell May Harris on March 23, 1958, and 2 daughters, Kathleen and Lisa, joined their family.

            Don enjoyed his hobbies of weather watching and reporting, fishing (sometimes catching), vegetable gardening, and family get-togethers.

            Don spent his entire 36-year working career as a public servant with 4 years in the Air Force, 7 years with the U.S. Post Office as a letter carrier in Gary, Indiana, and 25 years with the National Weather Service as a Meteorological Technician, with duty stations in Chicago, Denver and finally Minneapolis.  He held the position of Supervisory Meteorological Technician the last 7 years of his career.  Don retired from Federal Service in May 1993.  One last public service effort was as a volunteer for the Minnesota Adopt a Highway program, picking up rubbish along I-94 from mile marker 65 to 67 near Dalton, MN.  Even in retirement, Don continued his public service with his "eye on the sky" as a cooperative weather observer across Minnesota including Mound for 23 years, Dalton and Brainerd.  Don’s last observation station was in Princeton, Minnesota, which began after he met and married Lois Anderson on June 17, 2017.  He called it their “Bonus Round” and with it brought the blessing of enjoying each other’s children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

            Don is survived by his wife Lois Anderson, her daughter Marlene (Kevin) White and family, her son Larry (RaNae) Anderson and family; his brother Douglas Perry, daughters Kathy (Mike) Allison and Lisa (Mike) Murphy; 5 grandchildren - Theresa (Jeff) Parent, Sarah (Robert) Boser, Justin (Jessica) Haller, Jeremy (Brandy) Otten, and Shaun Murphy; and 9 great grandchildren - Marrisa, Mackenize, Morgan, Madison, Deidre, Mia, Braydon, Jayce and Hayden; a host of family and friends and his faithful companion, Rocky.  Don was preceded in death by his wife Dell May Perry, parents, Donald and Lou Perry and brother, David Perry.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 27, at 11:00 am at Karmel Covenant Church, 5799 County Rd 6, Princeton, MN 55371.  Visitation is at 10 am with burial to follow in the Karmel Church Cemetery.

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