Kay Perry Marin

Kay Perry Marin died Friday, October 3, 2025 after a brief illness. She was born in Boone, North Carolina, the daughter of Wiley B. and Alpha Farthing Perry. At the age of four, Kay and her family moved to a dairy farm in Orange County, NC, and Kay was always proud of having been reared as a farm girl. Her childhood days were filled with cooking, cleaning, sewing, ironing, and generally helping her mother care for their home, her father, and her three brothers. As a result, she developed an amazing work ethic that was evidenced throughout her life.

Kay was educated in the public schools of Hillsborough, NC, and was Valedictorian of her senior class at Hillsborough High School. She then attended Wake Forest University where she earned the Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. She developed an interest in computer programming and in years to follow she was employed by the Research Triangle Institute, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Center for Naval Analyses and the IBM Corporation. Also, she earned the Master of Science degree in Computer Science from George Mason University and served, for a time, on the CS faculty of Northern Virginia Community College in Fairfax, Virginia. However, Kay always made family her first priority.

It was at Wake Forest University (in Religion class) that she met her future husband, Gerald A. Marin. Theirs was a romance of some 61 years including a marriage of 59 years. Their life together took them to homes in North Carolina, Texas, Northern Virginia, California, Maryland, and Florida. At the time of her death, she resided in Oviedo, Florida and she and her husband are members of First United Methodist Church of Orlando.

Kay is survived by her husband, Gerald A. Marin, Ph.D., her son, Geoffrey Marin (Kim Douglass Marin), her daughter, Jennifer Marin, D.V.M., her brother, Joe Perry (Marie Perry), her brother, Wiley Boyce Perry, her grandson, Jackson Marin, her granddaughter, Katherine Marin, and numerous cousins, nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces.

The memorial will be held Friday, November 7th at 2:30 PM at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, NC. Address is 209 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Directions and parking information are available at this link: https://upcch.org/visit/