Perry W Pickett

Perry, a long-time beloved teacher and coach at Renton High School, lost a hard fought battle with lymphoma at his Kent home with family at his side on March 1, 2019. Perry will be deeply missed by his family, friends and so many people whose lives were enriched by knowing him. He was a thoughtful, patient and generous man who always had time to lend a hand and encourage others. He was also the life of the party and loved to entertain others whenever he had the chance.

Perry was born in Rogers, North Dakota, and moved with his family to Bremerton, Washington as a young boy. He loved sports and participated in baseball and football all through his school years. He considered the Christian ministry at one point but ultimately settled on his chosen profession of teaching and enrolled at Olympic Junior College. During his time there his proudest achievement was taking first place in the 2-mile race at the state track meet.

Perry met Vi in 1958 while they were both employed by Boeing. They were married six months later in Kirkland, Washington. Perry received a Bachelor of Arts and teaching certification from the University of Washington in 1961.

He began his teaching career at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Washington in 1961, and then moved to Renton High School in 1968. At Renton he taught mathematics and developed the first computer class. He was assistant football and assistant baseball coach for many years, retiring in 1991. Upon retirement from the school district, he taught driver’s education for Defensive Driving School, teaching both teens and adults, many from other countries. He loved to learn and speak driving specific terms in foreign languages to better assist his students with their training.

His passions outside of work were his church, his family, coaching Melissa and Tim’s sports teams (basketball, baseball and softball), watching and playing other sports himself, karaoke (he acquired the nickname Perryoke), singing in the church choir or wherever he happened to be, fishing, fly tying, and golfing.

He enjoyed aerobics classes at Renton Senior Center and being part of Kent Senior Center’s ukulele group, the Pineapple Express. His entertaining renditions of characters such as “Barely Manilow” and “Nearly Neil Diamond” were a hit at the Renton Senior Activity Center’s Senior Stage review. He participated in this annual show at Carco Theatre for 10 plus years creating many memorable characters including Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tom Jones and Johnny Cash. He liked to tell jokes to anyone who would listen and always had one or two in mind. On Friday nights you could always catch him singing karaoke at Vince’s Pizza in Renton.

Perry is survived by his wife of sixty years, Vi, daughter Melissa (Claude) Huguley, son Tim Pickett (Cathy), grandchildren Brooke Huguley, Morgan (Connor) Akiyama, Colt (Angelica) Carroll, Mitchell Pickett, and brother John (Judy) Pickett and sisters Pat (Ted) Dunham, Shirley (Matt) Puffer and Linda (Pierre) Pinard, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. Special thanks to the caregivers who helped Perry tremendously, AnnMarie, Sam and others.

In lieu of flowers, Perry would best be remembered by donations to the American Cancer Society.