PARISH OF THE NEW ENGLAND DIOCESE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA
James Perry
James McLeod Perry, M.D., 62, passed away on October 30, 2006. Born in Brooklyn, NY, on February 25, 1944, into the Air Force family of James Wallace and Phoebe Nock Perry, he resided in many cities in the United States and Britain.
Following graduation from Phillips Andover Academy in 1961, he was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy class of 1965. After a year of graduate studies at Georgetown University, he served in Vietnam as a fighter pilot with the 612th tactical fighter squadron and Misty Commando Sabre.
He left the Air Force to pursue a medical degree at the University of Florida, followed by a residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Dartmouth. He served as a staff physician at Geisinger Medical Center before coming to Jacksonville in 1989, where he succeeded the late Marshall Horowitz as chairman of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department and residency program at Shands Jacksonville. Leaving academic medicine in 2000, he entered the private practice of Orthopaedics with his wife, Kathleen Kopach, M.D.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Kopach; mother, Phoebe; brother, Geoffrey (Valerie); daughters, Betsy (Michael) Thompson, Leslie (Gregg) Lagerquist, Kristin, and Alexis; and five grandchildren.
The Funeral Service was held on Thursday, November 2, 2006, in the chapel of Quinn-Shalz, A Family Funeral Home, with Fr. Ted Pisarchuk officiating. Interment followed at a later date in the U.S. Airforce Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs, CO.
A Note from a Friend
The thoughtful, intelligent, and always upbeat spirit of Jim Perry touched our lives in so many ways. He was a true Renaissance man. We will always remember him as the close friend who provided balance and perspective in a sometimes confusing world. We will miss you, Jimmie.
Kevin Price
A Note from HROC
James Perry and his family attended the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Claremont, NH, for ten years, from 1979 to 1989, until they moved to Florida. James's wife, Kathy, was the only Orthodox in the family. But our small flock at that time, mostly "cradle" Orthodox parishioners, expressed warm and friendly acceptance of all of them. When former Captain and war veteran Dr. Jim was chrismated in June 1980, and when later two of his daughters, Kristin and Alexis, were baptized as well, the Perry family became church members in "good standing" entirely. Despite his busy work schedule at the hospital, Jim always found time to participate in church services and charity events. When the Perry family moved away, our parishioners missed them and kept fond memories of them.
Memory Eternal to a dear old friend!