Louise Perry

Louise was born on January 2, 1933, in Morgan County, Alabama. Her father, Henry B. Wallace, worked as a sharecropper on a farm near Hartselle, Alabama, while her mother Celeste, took care of household duties. As a youngster, Louise recalled picking cotton until her fingers were numb to help her parents afford the move to a new home in Gadsden, Alabama. When the Wallace family first arrived in Gadsden they lived in a converted gas station on Elmwood Avenue. Later, Henry Wallace purchased property on North 7th Street, just a few blocks from the Good Year Tire and Rubber Company.

Henry and wife Celeste raised four daughters, Evelyn, Lois, Louise and Linda in a house that Henry built himself. Louise was particularly proud of her father who, in addition to working the second shift at Goodyear, also found regular work as a carpenter when he wasn’t making automobile tires. When speaking of her father, Louise would always remark, “You know, Jesus was a carpenter, too.”

Louise Wallace met her future husband, Grady Perry at Gadsden High School. Louise was a saxophone player in the marching band, while Grady was a halfback on the Tiger’s football team. After high school, Grady served in Korea with the U.S. Marine Corp, and continued to correspond with Louise. Upon his return from Korea, he prudently spent his 30-day leave courting Louise before reporting back for duty at Camp Lejeune, NC. After completing his service, Grady proposed to Louise. On June 19, 1954, the two were married at East Gadsden Baptist Church.

Soon the newlyweds packed up their car and pet parakeet “Petey Bird” and moved to Washington, D.C., where Grady was to work first for Congressman Albert Rains and later for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

Kids came soon, and Louise took pride in her two boys. She was a gentle and loving mother and good friend to many. She made sure her sons attended church and she loved singing hymns, especially “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.” Louise was also an expert at crafting beautiful homemade ornaments, wreaths and centerpieces that were magazine worthy. There was nothing she couldn’t make or fix with a glue gun. She regularly treated friends and family to some amazing meals from her wellspring of Southern-style recipes that her husband and sons have always regarded as the “family crown jewels.” Both sons love to cook their mother’s recipes and good-naturedly argue about whose version of Louise’s classics is best.

The Perrys ultimately returned to the South and made a new home in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Louise loved flowers and springtime in Georgia, but more than anything, she enjoyed spending time with her precious grandchildren. Louise and Grady recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary together.

She is survived by her husband, Grady Perry, Jr.; sons and daughters-in-law, Jeff and Angie Perry, Greg and Marjorie Perry; two grandsons Galen and Benjamin Perry; two granddaughters, Piper and Lindy Perry; and her sister, Lois Wallace Garmon.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, the 20th of April at ten o’clock in the morning at Patterson’s Arlington Chapel. Interment will follow at one o’clock in the afternoon at Georgia National Cemetery, Canton. Friends are cordially invited to visit with the family Monday morning from nine o’clock until the hour of service at H.M. Patterson & Son Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road, NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328.