John Sperry

SPERRY, John B., Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, died at Westminster Canterbury on February 16, 2010 at the age of 87. Upon his retirement as a colonel in the U.S. Army in 1968, he joined the faculty of the University of Richmond for three years. For the next 25 years he was a Professor of Accounting at VCU, which included 10 years as department chairman until his retirement in 1996. Subsequently, the accounting alumni contributed $100,000 for a scholarship in his name. He served on the Virginia Board of Accountancy and was active in the Virginia Society of CPAs as a member of their Board of Directors and president of their Richmond chapter. He served as a member of the Powhatan County School Board and was a member of Christ Ascension Episcopal Church. He was a senior parachutist with the 11th Airborne Division and had overseas duty in the Philippine Islands, Okinawa, Korea and Vietnam. He was a graduate of the Command & Staff College and the National War College. He received his B.S. from York University, his M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. from American University. Survivors include his wife, Maria I. Sperry; son, Dr. John B. Sperry Jr. (Mary Edna) of Charleston, S.C., and stepson, Douglas McClure (Salud) of Seville, Spain; two grandsons, Paul (Pam) and Jake Sperry; four stepgrandchildren, Sarah, Rebecca, Miguel and Maria; two great-grandchildren, Eliza and Emily Sperry. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bliley's-Central, 3801 Augusta Avenue. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at Christ Ascension Episcopal Church, followed by interment in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. The family recommends that memorial gifts be given to Westminster Canterbury Foundation, 1600 Westbrook Avenue, Richmond, Va. 23227.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.