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Donald Dunham Perry, 83
Research chemist was part-time Truro resident
Donald Dunham Perry, 83, of Milford, N.J., a 60-year summer resident of North Truro, died from pneumonia on Thursday, Feb. 23. He was the husband of Helen Knubel Perry, to whom he was married for 48 years.
Born June 9, 1922, to Edward Owen and Ida (Carpenter) Perry, he grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y., and lived in Morristown, N.J., before moving to Milford 38 years ago.
He earned his bachelor of science degree in chemistry in 1943, a master's degree in 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1951, all from Harvard University.
He worked for Elastimold Corporation of Hackettstown, N.J., as well as Johnson and Johnson and Riegel Paper Corporation. One of his first jobs was at Reaction Motors Inc., in Denville, N.J., where he developed fuels that propelled some of the first modern rockets. He held 10 patents for this work.
He was a first lieutenant in the Army Air Corps during WW II, and served as a weather officer stationed with the Tenth Weather Squadron in Burma.
Dr. Perry cherished the Lower Cape, and he supported the Truro Conservation Trust, the Truro Historical Society and the Dexter Keezer Fund. He loved swimming in the bay, body-surfing in the ocean and just relaxing at Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro reading The New York Times.
He was a member of the First United Church of Christ in Milford, served as a deacon and sang in the choir. He also sang with a barbershop chorus called the Hunterdom Harmonizers. He served as president of the local school board in Milford and was an adult literacy tutor. Dr. Perry belonged to the American Chemical Society for over 50 years.
Mr. Perry’s parents bought a cottage in North Truro in the 1940s and the family has summered there since. Since his retirement, Mr. Perry and his wife spend most of the summer there.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three sons, Thomas Edward of Easley, S.C., Andrew Knubel of Newton, Mass., and David Donald of Santa Cruz, Calif.; a grandchild, Anya Perry; two nephews, Chris Brown of Wellfleet and Steve Brown of Richmond, Calif., and a niece, Laura Brown of Wellfleet. His sister, Jane Perry Brown of Wellfleet, pre-deceased him in 1989.
A memorial will be held at the First United Church of Christ in Milford, N.J. at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 25.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to his favorite charity, the Salvation Army.
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Rebecca M. Burhoe, 87
Peter Gee, 73
Ruth Evans, 85
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Mar 9th, 2006