Constance Pryde "Connie" Perucca

1935 - 2022

Constance "Connie" Pryde Perucca
February 27, 1935 - October 3, 2022
Kansas City , Missouri - Connie Pryde Perucca, Artist, Mother, Grandmother and creative force extraordinaire passed away peacefully October 3, 2022. She was born February 27, 1935 in Kansas City, Missouri to Clarence and Alice Ryden. She grew up in Kansas City, attended the William Cullen Bryant School, St Paul's, Sunset Hill High School and went on to Parsons School of Design in New York City. She loved New York! After working in advertising for Saks, Ohrbach's and Abraham & Straus Department Store in NY, she returned to Kansas City and worked for Woolf Brothers where she met and later married John Perucca. Connie was Copy Chief at Macy's in addition to helping John with his work as a manufacturers rep in the men's clothing business. They had four children, a busy life, and in 1968 they started Pryde's Old Westport, a truly original and unique store featuring kitchen & home accessories; it's where all the kids grew up and worked together. Connie was a cofounder, the brains and the creative force behind the business; she worked tirelessly for 10 years helping to make Pryde's a beloved Kansas City institution. Their legacy carries on today 55 years later with their daughter Louise at the helm. Connie owned Pryde's Stanley Branch for several years after her divorce; she loved her business. She went on to do many other things: she staged model homes, she worked for The Squire designing and selling ads, she also worked for Davidson's Furniture, Paynes and National Equipment as an interior designer and copywriter. She decorated Oak Park Mall every holiday for 15 years; her bows, pink iridescent Christmas trees and fabulous paper flowers made us smile. She illustrated books, won jingle and writing contests, painted murals for residential and commercial customers, designed one-of-a-kind invitations, decorated countless homes and for special events, too, making many friends along the way. She played an instrumental role in her son's successful haunted house business, The Main Street Morgue. The Lyric Opera Circle, KC Hospice, the Fireside Committee of the Art Institute and many other community organizations were recipients of her generosity with her time and talent. She loved her Swedish heritage and was a proud member of the Scandinavian Club. She so enjoyed her many trips sketching and painting, especially in Nantucket. Connie was a wonderful mother, an amazing grandmother to her seven grandchildren and she shared with all of us her love of the arts and all things creative. We will always remember Connie's energy, enthusiasm, imagination and kindness; she was an inspiration to us all and we will miss her dearly. Connie leaves her daughters Elizabeth Benson Anonsen (Tom) and Louise Meyers (Pat), and her son John Perucca along with her beloved grandchildren Meghan Benson and Jim, Elizabeth, Anna, John, Matthew and Mary Meyers. We are at peace knowing Connie is at last reunited with her son Chris who was taken from us much too soon. A celebration of Connie's life will be held Sunday, October 30th from 2 to 4pm at the home of Louise and Pat Meyers. Please contact family members for more details. There is no way to share all the fun things about this wonderful woman in this space…read more about Connie's life at www.kccremation.com.