James Arthur “Jim” Perry, Sr. – Obituary

James Arthur “Jim” Perry, Sr. peacefully passed away at home on February 6, 2018 with family at his side. He was a great husband, father, brother, uncle, friend and businessman who loved to fish.

Born November 2, 1946 in Renovo, Pennsylvania to Jerome J. “Goag” Perry and G. Isobel “Toots” Stephens Perry, Jim spent most of his adult life in Harrisburg.

Growing-up in Renovo, a small town nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Jim developed a life-long love for the great outdoors: camping, boating, hunting, traveling, and most of all, fishing.

Jim was loved and respected by everyone who knew him. He generously shared his laughter and smile. A room felt warmer because he was in it.

He was a contributor and a “doer”. He contributed in every aspect of life, to his family, his community, his church and professional organizations. Even to the end, he was Activities Director at Sarasota Lakes RV Park, his winter home.

Some other places he contributed included Boy Scout Troop 27,  Mt. View Swim Club, Central Dauphin Marching Band, Penn State Blue Band, West Hanover Baseball, Lower Paxton Soccer, and the West Hanover Township Planning Commission.

Jim honorably served in the United States Army as a Specialist E-4 non-commissioned officer from 1967 to 1970. He was stationed in Florida City where he also learned to scuba dive and raced his Dodge Polara.

Jim spent most of his career with the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System (PSERS), where he was Executive Director from 1984 to 1999. In 1994, he served one term as President of the National Council on Teacher Retirement, and remained active with NCTR through last year.

After retiring, he was recruited to help PIMCO grow and maintain relationships with public retirement systems around the country. He also founded a state-wide organization, Pennsylvania Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (PAPERS) to help PA public retirement systems learn how to do things better.

He is survived by his best friend and wife of 47 years, Barbara J. Haney Perry, who lives in their home in Mechanicsburg. They have two sons Jim and Jeff. James A. Perry, Jr. lives in Hong Kong with wife Daisy Jiang, son James A. “Jamie” Perry, III, and daughter Maelie. Jeffrey S. Perry lives in Stafford, Virginia with his wife Joan Brand Perry, daughter Amelia and son William.

Jim graduated from Bucktail Area High School (1964); Williamsport Area Com-munity College with an AAS in Business Administration and Management (1967), where he was chosen Alumni of the year in 1997; Elizabethtown College with a Bachelor of Business Administration (1976); and the University of Pennsylvania with a Masters of Government Administration (1979).

MEMORIAL the family will receive guests on Friday, February 16, 2018 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Neill Funeral Home, 3401 Market Street, Camp Hill.

FUNERAL SERVICE 11:00am on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 1 Peter Drive, Mechanicsburg. The family will receive guests from 10:00am.

CONTRIBUTIONS in Jim’s memory can be made to St. Joseph Parish, 925 Huron Avenue, Renovo, PA 17764.

 

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