Thomas James Perritt

Thomas James Perritt died on July 30, 2021 at 62. He was born on November 26, 1958 in Bremerton, Washington, the 4th of 6 children, to Tom Perritt, a Navy man, and Betty Perritt, a housewife. Shortly after his birth they moved to Wilmington, and later to San Diego, California, where he spent the rest of his childhood.
Thomas graduated from Mount Miguel High School in 1976. Subsequently, his father retired from the Navy, and moved the family to Brawley, California, where Thomas worked with him at the geo-thermal plant.
When his father took up trucking in 1979, the family moved to Aloha, Oregon, and Thomas got to ride shotgun on some of his cross-country trips.
Thomas took training as an EMT, and then worked for an ambulance company where he met Debra Sue Perritt, and they married on June 11, 1983. They had two children, Chelsea Elizabeth, born in 1984, and Thomas Daniel, born in 1987. They were residents of Dundee until their divorce in 2019.
In 1988, Thomas graduated from the Police Academy, and worked for the Newberg Police Department for 24 years.
An avid outdoorsman, Thomas loved fishing and hunting, was a founding member of a local gun club, and also worked as a tech for William Henry Knives. His greatest adventures included hunting safaris in Africa. He was a consummate storyteller, publishing several articles about his travels.
He is survived by his children, Chelsea and Thomas, and his granddaughter, Lilly; his mother Betty Perritt, his brother Scott O'Neill, and his sisters: Gail Romaine, Joy Goodall, and Gillian Pope.
A service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 7th, 2021 at Macy & Son Funeral Home in McMinnville.