Ben Erwin Perry was born January 15, 1927 on McCauley Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He attended Chapel Hill High School and entered the service after graduation and served with the U.S. Army in the occupation forces of Japan. When he returned, he entered UNC and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. He also played football on the Charlie Justice era football teams.
Ben married Marguerite “Geet†Thompson of Raleigh, North Carolina, on September 5, 1948. He began his football coaching career in Edenton, North Carolina in the early ‘50s. He later became head football coach at Fuquay Varina High School and Lumberton High School. In 1960, he returned to Chapel Hill and began a career at the university in the Records and Registration Department. He served on the Chapel Hill School Board and was a member of the Jaycees and later the Rooster Club. He and Geet took lead roles in the “Justice Era†football team reunions.
Ben was an avid Tar Heel fan and a longtime Rams Club member. He enjoyed his passions of playing golf and spending time in Emerald Isle. Ben was an excellent woodworker, having built many items of furniture in his lifetime. He developed a knack for, and an expertise in, decoy carving, which he enjoyed for many years. His proficiency in decoy carving led to many first-place and top finishes in competitions held from Ocean City, Maryland to Harkers Island, North Carolina.
Ben’s beloved wife, Geet, passed away on February 17, 2006 and his brother and best friend, Gales, passed away in November 2007.
He is survived by sons Sam P. Perry of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Michael T. Perry of Chapel Hill; daughter-in-law Catherine Jones; grandchildren Samantha J. Perry of Charleston, South Carolina and Lawton T. Perry of Creedmore, North Carolina; as well as many nieces and nephews.