June Gill Perry

1935 - 2022

June Gill Perry
January 18, 1935 - June 30, 2022
Wendell, North Carolina - June Gill Perry, 87, passed peacefully on Thursday, June 30, 2022 surrounded by family. June was born in Franklin County, North Carolina on January 18, 1935 to the late Jarvis Wesley Perry and Frances Chamblee Perry. Growing up as one of five siblings, June's days were filled with schooling, farming, and tending to whatever his daddy told him to do in the family general store in Pearces, North Carolina. June met the love of his life, Patsy King Perry, his senior year of high school. Their love story is their grandchildren's favorite.
June's life transitioned to Wake County when he attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He majored in Agriculture and graduated in 1958. After graduation, he continued to support the North Carolina State Alumni Association and instilled a love of the Wolfpack in all of his family. After college, June served his country in the North Carolina National Guard and was honorably discharged as a Second Lieutenant.
June and Pat got married on December 15, 1956. On Easter Monday of 1960, the Perrys became residents of Wendell, North Carolina. In June of '60, June became the owner and operator of Perry's Hardware Store, Inc. in downtown Wendell. Later that year, June and Pat welcomed their twin boys, Barry and Larry; four years later, their daughter Lisa made her appearance. To the end of his life, June only ever introduced Lisa as "my baby".
June believed in leaving his corner of the world better than he found it, and he was as devoted to his community as he was his family. Before moving to Wendell, June worked for the Franklin County School System as Principal of Harris School in Bunn, North Carolina. Upon moving to Wendell, he was a loyal member of Wendell Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and the Chairman of the Building Committee. He was a board member of the First Union National Bank, former President of the Wendell Rotary Club, and the Chairman for the Building Committee for the Wendell Chamber of Commerce and the Wendell Senior Citizen Center. He was a Lifetime 50-year member of the Wendell Masonic Lodge, #565. He was Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Wendell Schools, and he was a member of the Wake County Emergency Medical Services Board. He was also an owner in the Developers of Wendell, Incorporated. June was delighted to see people love Wendell as he did. June was also the mayor of Wendell from 1975-1979.
When June retired in 1997, he kept his focus on his family and his community. He helped where it was needed: with his grandchildren, at church, or around Perry's Hardware Store. "The store" - as the family affectionately called it - served its community for 119 years before it closed in 1999; June was proud of its legacy as one of Wendell's longest-run businesses. June was only a phone call away, which he always reminded his grandchildren as they grew up and spread their own wings. He could be found each morning at The Table of Knowledge at Aubrey and Peedie's Grill on Main Street or mowing his lawn with the most meticulous rows you've ever seen. On Sunday afternoons, he would be surrounded by his children and grandchildren, talking and laughing after a family meal. June loved to tell a story or have a visit, whether he's known you for years or for minutes. What he had was yours, if you needed it.
In addition to his parents, June was preceded in death by his son, Larry Leon Perry on January 11, 1998. All three of his brothers also were waiting for him in glory: J.W. Perry, Jr., Hal Perry, and Ned Perry.
June is survived by his wife, partner, and kindred-soul, Pat Perry, and two of his children: son, Barry Perry and daughter, Lisa Perry Sanderson (Steven), both of Wendell, and his daughter-in-law, Michele Williams Perry Seidel (Tommy) of Raleigh, and his sister, Lou Perry Tippett (Lyndo) of Raleigh. His six beloved grandchildren - who adoringly called him Granddaddy - also survive him: Hannah Perry Hopkins (Lee), Rebekah Sanderson (Christopher Hathcock), Emily Sanderson Mills (Andrew), Caleb Sanderson (Kaitlyn), Morgan Perry Seidel Abreu (Eduardo), and Maggie Seidel. June is also survived by great-grandchildren Eden, Eliza, Drew, Leah, Sophie, and Eloise. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
A service to celebrate the life of this giant of a man will be held at Wendell Baptist Church on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 10 a.m. The family will receive visitors in the Wendell Baptist Fellowship Hall immediately after the service. The family will commit the body to burial in a private service at a later time.
The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to Wendell Baptist Church in lieu of flowers, mailing address PO Box 187, Wendell, NC 27591.