David E. Perry

        “When it’s time to go it’s time to go, no matter what you’ve got or who you owe”… David E. Perry, 81, of West Warwick RI, boarded his final “car now leaving for Arctic, Clyde, Phoenix, Riverpoint, and Cucamonga” in the early morning of November 12th, 2024 surrounded by his loving family he passed away in his home after a 12 year cancer battle. He was married to Marie Elaine (Fontes) for 64 years. David and Elaine were lifelong residents of West Warwick, RI and in recent years they spent their winter months in Zephyrhills, Florida.

        David was blessed with a wonderful family, one daughter and two sons: Christine & John (Key), David & Lynne (Perry), and Scott Perry. He was a grandpa to six grandchildren: Kayla, Kendra and Gretchin Perry, Josh, Oliver, and Graham Key. He was great grandfather to Piper Seelenbrandt and the beloved uncle and great uncle to many nieces and nephews. He was one of three sons to the late Mary & Joseph Perry. He was brother to the late Joseph Perry and is survived by his brother, Frank Perry, and sister in-law, Patricia Perry, of Kalamazoo, MI.

        David attended St. Anthony Parochial schools and West Warwick High School, playing on the 1959 West Warwick Wizards, class B State Football Championship team. In 1991, he received his B.S. Degree from Roger Williams University. After 28 years of state service in RI Superior Courts of Washington County, Providence County and Kent County, David retired in December 2009 as the Clerk of Kent County Superior Court.

        He was an honorary lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus (K. of C.) and Past Grand Knight of Reverend James P. Gibson Council No. 181. During his term as Grand Knight, he organized a concert at the West Warwick High School by the popular and well known Father Flanagan’s Boys Town Choir. He also conducted many annual ski trips to Vermont and New Hampshire for K. of C. members and their guests.

         David served as past president of St. Anthony’s Church Parish Council, and as a member of the following organizations: St. Anthony’s Parish center building committee, the 1976 West Warwick Bicentennial Commission, and the West Warwick friends of the greenway. He was largely responsible for the relocation of the caboose along the West Warwick Bike Path; to represent that most bike trails were developed from train rails. He was also long time member of the West Warwick Historical Society.

        David’s passions included spending time with family, playing cards, golf, traveling, politics, and music. He didn’t play golf as well as he tried, but enjoyed many years with the West Warwick Post II American Legion Golf League at W.W.C.C. and the Tropical Acres Golf League in Zephyrhills, Florida. The same outcome for his guitar playing, and singing. He said “I don’t know anyone else who sang and played as badly and as long as I did, but I still enjoyed trying.” The Good Lord knows “ I can’t carry a tune in a paper bag, so I don’t think there will be any offers for me to sing in Heaven's Choir.”

      His funeral will be held Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 9:00 am from the PRATA-GALLOGLY Funeral Home, 78 Providence St, West Warwick, RI 02893 with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am in St. Anthony Church, 1 Sunset Ave, West Warwick. Followed by burial at Notre Dame Cemetery in West Warwick, RI. Visiting hours will be Friday, November 15, 2024 from 4:00-7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Brown University Health Cancer Institute, PO Box H, Providence, RI 02901. 

          A special heartfelt thank you to the West Warwick fire department as well as all those medical professionals who have cared for him over the years from the Moffitt Cancer Center, Dr. Herbert Brennan, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Hope Hospice, and the Brown University Health Cancer Institute.

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