John Thomas Perry

Mr. John Thomas Perry, 31, entered into rest on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2020 at Westover Memorial Park with the Rev. Clarence D. Hill officiating. The family will visit with friends in the backyard at the Dennis Perry family home in Evans, Ga. on Friday, June 5 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

John was born on January 4, 1989 in Charleston, SC to Dennis and Teri Perry. He became a born-again Christian on October 20, 1996. He attended Curtis Baptist and Augusta Christian Schools and graduated in 2007. He attended Augusta State University and obtained a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

John completed a fishery tech internship at DNR of Waycross, Ga and was employed at the SRS Ecology lab as a research assistant. After a second internship for the Iowa DNR at Lake Rathbun in Centerville, John returned to Augusta.

He was recently accepted into The Graduate School at Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences for the Fall 2020 Semester and had secured an Assistantship position for Professor Carol Johnson. He was so excited to realize his dream of earning a master’s degree and becoming a Wildlife Biologist. Alas, that is now not possible, but he has worked hard to pass on his love of fishing, nature, and the outdoors to his 23-month-old daughter, Ava Jean.

John was currently employed as a server at Miyako Sushi and Steakhouse in Augusta where his kind and helpful manner brought him many regular customers and strong work friendships. John loved his family, being a daddy, UGA football, fishing, and family dinners on his parent’s back porch. He especially loved fishing at the Jefferson County farm of his friend, Mark Cleary and caught some big ones in the farm pond! He had a dry sense of humor and could sneak up on you with a zinger! John and his best friend, Nick Gilliam, have been through many adventures together since the fifth grade. Thank you, Nick, for you always being there for John.

Mr. Perry is survived by his daughter, Ava Jean, his parents, Dennis and Sarah “Teri” Perry, his brother, Clayton F. Perry, MD, his aunts, Beverly Deal (Butch), Hope Remsen (Bill) and Beth Meagher (Patrick), a sister-in-law, Maureen McNamara Perry, niece and nephews Karmen, Bobby and Douglas Perry and his girlfriend, Michelle Mae McGriff. He also has a host of cousins in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina who loved him. John was preceded in death by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Anderson (Dot) and Mr. and Mrs. Josephus Perry (Elizabeth), his half- brother, Michael Perry and half-sister, Lisa Hair.

John continues to impact the lives of others even in passing through the fond memories that live in the heart of his family and friends as well as through the gifts of life John provided as an organ donor. In lieu of flowers, the Perry family respectfully requests contributions be made in John Thomas Perry’s name to any of the following foundations:

LifeLink Legacy Fund, 9661 Delaney Creek Boulevard Tampa, FL 33619. This fund provides financial support for patients in need of or who have received a lifesaving organ transplant at www.DonateLifeGeorgia.org

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at www.afsp.org

The Overflow Foundation (suicide prevention) at www.overflow.foundation

Gifts of outdoor blooming plants may be made for a memory garden his father will be creating at the family home