Eleanor Claire Perry

Claire Courtney Perry of Lexington, SC, left our physical world on April 27, 2026. She was 91.4 years young. Claire was born at home in Aiken County, SC on Christmas Eve December 24, 1934 to the late Clifford Lawrence Courtney and Frances Helen Courtney. She was a precocious child and very early developed an intense interest in anything outdoors that crawled, swam, flew or grew. Her curiosity and love of plants and animals was evident in her entire life. She recanted a story where she bought a live rattlesnake from a neighborhood friend and knowing she would not be allowed to keep it, hid it in her closet for a few days contained in a glass jug feeding it mice until her Mother finally found it, fainted, regained consciousness, and told her to go get her Father. She was a head strong and determined young lady. She never said she couldn’t do something. The word “can’t” was not allowed in our house. If she heard us say we couldn’t do something she would reply “Can’t never did anything” and then proceed to show us how it could be done.

She attended and graduated from Aiken High School often carpooling her younger brother Larry and their friends. Claire’s Father sold used cars so she was one of the few teenagers that had a car. He would “give” her a car, she would clean it up from top to bottom and then he would find a buyer for the car. After this happened a few times the next time he tried to “give” her a car she refused to accept it unless he put the title in her name. She got the title and kept the car, a 1950 Henry J.

Claire was an exceptional seamstress and made most of her clothes even in high school as evidenced in her being voted Best Dressed. She did not follow fashion trends and was never preoccupied with what everybody else was wearing. It was not unusual to see her with each of her fingernails painted a different color. If you saw her working in her yard, she more than likely had on earrings and lipstick. Claire left Aiken after graduating high school in 1953 to attend The University of South Carolina. She paid for her own education by working in the biology labs and commuting back to Aiken, to work Friday afternoons and Saturdays at the bank. One Friday she had car trouble and was forced to abandon her Henry J and accept a ride from a helpful gentleman. He was very polite and upon reaching her destination asked her for her phone number, hoping for a date. She politely declined his offer, and he left unaware that she had a loaded 32 Smith and Wesson in her purse, pointed directly at him the entire trip.

It was on one of those Saturdays while working in the bank that she met the love of her life, Sumner Whitfield “Whit” Perry Jr., or as she often said, “The most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on”. They were so in love that she attended summer school in order to graduate a semester early with a degree in Biology so they could hurry up and get married. He offered her bank stock in lieu of an engagement ring and she accepted it. They spent their honeymoon in a friend’s log cabin located on a mountain stream in the mountains of North Carolina. They dined on fresh trout and grits the entire week. They were in their heaven. Five years and four children later she was a full-time wife and mother.

Claire excelled at everything she did, whether it was putting three balanced meals a day on the table for six people, doing yard work, making bread, or cleaning and cooking whatever Whit brought home from his hunting and fishing trips. She loved being outside enjoying nature with him and her children. Whit and Claire shared fifty-four years of their lives together and raised four children to adulthood up until his passing in 2011. She often said how proud she was of all their children. Claire’s appetite for seeking knowledge and her innate curiosity for all things never diminished. The last 10 years of her life she owned an iPhone and was well versed in texting and proper emoji placement. She loved to Google something and was in absolute awe of the amount of information she could garner in seconds on a variety of subjects ranging from movie stars, health, nutrition, or finances. Seek and ye shall find eternal peace. We think she did.

She is survived by her children, Sumner W. “Duck” Perry III of Micanopy, FL and his daughter Autumn, Helen Victoria “Vicki” Perry (Teresa Martin) of Banner Elk, NC, Lawrence Lanier Perry of Decatur, GA and sons Alexander and Christopher, David Michael Perry (Martha) of Gilbert, SC and sons Evan (Ana), Austin (Michelle), and daughter Monika (Edge), three great grandchildren from Austin and Michelle, Wilder Whitfield, Rhodes Austin, and Bryer Evans, nieces and nephews, Dorothy Brawley, Laura Strader, Gaston Brawley, and Don Brawley.

Preceded in death by her parents, her brother Clifford Lawrence “Larry” Courtney Jr., husband Whit, best sister-in-law Dorothy “Dot” Perry Brawley and husband Bill Brawley and nephew Bolling Brawley.

In keeping with her wishes, Claire was cremated. Her remains will be commingled with the most handsome man she ever laid eyes on, the father of her four children, and husband of fifty four years, Whit.

If you would like to personally honor her life, go outside, plant a tree, grow a tomato, catch a snake, or bake a cake. She would love any and all of those.

The Perry Family would like to extend a special thank you to Claire’s neighbors at Carrington Place. Roz and Bernie Grossman, Tony and Scooter Alfieri, and many more were instrumental in allowing Claire the ability to stay in her own home, giving her a sense of independence and dignity. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.