Reverend Perry Roberts Williams

Died peacefully on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at his home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Anne Ballentine Williams, Perry is survived by his son David B. Williams and daughter-in-law Robin Mahler of Bethesda, Maryland, formerly of Jamaica Plain; his daughter Sarah C. Williams Wilson and son-in-law Joseph D.C. Wilson III of Sewickley, Pennsylvania; his son Jeffrey P. Williams and daughter-in-law Zeva Ellman Williams of Oakland, California; his sister Gwendolyn Spencer and brother-in-law Richard Spencer of Bloomfield, Connecticut, his grandchildren Dylan and Graham Terhune, Emily and Jane Williams, and Stella and Molly Williams; a niece, nephews and numerous grand nieces. Born on June 13, 1924, in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York, Perry was raised in Hempstead and Garden City, New York. He was a 1941 graduate of the St. Paul's School in Garden City; was a member of the Class of 1945 at Amherst College and earned a Bachelors Degree in Music and English in 1947, having taken two years off from his college education to serve in the Pacific during WWII as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Perry went on to earn a Masters in Music from Yale University in 1949 and a Masters in Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1951. During his illuminating career as an Episcopal Priest, Perry served as Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Associate Rector at Christ Church, Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and as Rector at Grace Episcopal Church, Orange, New Jersey. Highlights of his career include serving seven years as Rector of Emmnnuel Church in Geneva, Switzerland and twenty one years as the Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. Following his retirement, Perry and Anne moved to Jamaica Plain, where he quickly became involved in community affairs and local politics. A memorial service will be held on Monday, August 11 at 11:30 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plain and will be followed by a reception in the church hall. The service will be preceded by private internment at Forest Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Perry's memory may be made to the Greater Food Bank of Boston, P.O. Box 55860, Boston, MA 02205-5860; or to the Alzheimers Association, 311 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA 02472.