John L. Perry

John L. Perry, a distinguished novelist and journalist, passed away on February 27, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Born on August 16, 1928, he was a fifth-generation Knoxvillian and the son of J. Lawrence and Cina Rankin Perry. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on March 22, 2025, at Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery.

John earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and worked as an editor and reporter for several daily newspapers. He was among the first American journalists permitted to enter the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's death, where he interviewed Chairman Nikita Khrushchev in the Kremlin. A rare Southern editor who supported racial desegregation, he considered his proudest achievement an investigative report that saved an innocent Black man from Florida's electric chair.

Over three decades, John served American presidents on covert counterintelligence missions, experiences that informed two of his novels. His literary works included a novel about a small town hosting a World's Fair, a children's book on adoption titled *Right to Be Wanted, Right to Be Loved*, and his most recent work, *Ice Meadows*, a love story about an unborn baby girl saved from abortion.

His career in public service was extensive. He served as deputy undersecretary of commerce under President Lyndon B. Johnson, a White House speechwriter, and a race-relations troubleshooter. Under President Jimmy Carter, he was executive assistant to the undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development and interim director of public information for FEMA. He also played a key role in reorganizing Florida's higher education system and contributed to various educational initiatives nationwide.

John was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Mary Mayne Wilson Perry, in 2017, and his son, Steven M. Perry, in 2020. He is survived by his children Leslie Anne Peterson, David L. Perry, and Emily Susan Elizabeth Perry, as well as several stepchildren.

He was a member of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church and entered Shannondale Retirement Center in 2017. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church.