Northborough – Mary Elsie (Ricker) Perry died Monday July 4, 2011, at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital after a brief illness.
Survivors include her three sons, Alan of Worcester, Douglas of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Frederick of Waxhaw, N.C.; a daughter, Jean of Northborough; five grandchildren, Jessica, Jeramie, Meredith, Bret and Jonathan; and four great-grandchildren, Morgan, Savannah, Nicholas and McKenna. She is survived by her sisters, Harriet Fuller of Shrewsbury and Anne Wurster of Wixon, Mich., as well as many nieces and nephews. Her husband of 54 years, Donald A. Perry, died in 1998.
Born in Shrewsbury, the daughter of Dean and Jean (Harvey) Ricker, she graduated from Shrewsbury High School in 1938 and attended Salter Secretarial School.
Mrs. Perry was the first Executive Director at the Northborough Housing Authority and a secretary at Trinity Church. She was a life member of the Northborough Garden Club, a member of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury and of Tower Hill Botanical Garden, and an honorary member of the Worcester Chapter, Associated Blind of Massachusetts.
A loving, inspiring mother, grandmother and friend, she will be missed and remembered by all who knew her.
Following cremation, private burial will be in Mountain View Cemetery in Shrewsbury. A memorial service celebrating her life will be held Saturday July 16, at 1 p.m., in First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, 19 Church Rd. For online condolences, please visit www.haysfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 330 Congress St., #501, Boston, MA 02210 or Tower Hill Botanical Garden: 11 French Dr., Boylston, MA, 01505.
