Albert Leroy Perry

Albert Leroy Perry, known as “Junior” to his friends and family, was born on April 15, 1936, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The only child to the late Leroy Albert Perry and Emma Grier Perry, he grew up in the Biddleville neighborhood before his parent’s separation and his mother’s subsequent move to the Brooklyn Neighborhood of Center City Charlotte. He was educated in the Charlotte City Schools, attending Myers Street School, where he was elected the first President of the Student Council in 1949. At Second Ward High School, he participated in various activities, including the choir and the National Honor Society. A proud member of the Class of 1954, he tried to keep in touch with his old classmates over the years as they married and had families. A doting big brother, he watched nine brothers and sisters grow up while spending summers with his dad in New York City; later, after he moved up there, he would spend time with them as he could. His brothers and sisters can tell you stories of working for the Hudson River Day Lines (now the Circle Line). He would take the older siblings, Gregory and Beverly, to the movies or somewhere to get a treat. This devotion to his brothers and sisters would continue as he worked in various positions around the city, including Inhalation Therapist at Montefiore Hospital and the United States Post Office. He would become a Claims Adjuster with Nationwide Insurance, one of the first the company hired in 1971. He would work in the New City area until the late 1970s. He moved back to Charlotte in 1988 when he would work at his cousin’s nightclub, “Kings and Queens,” in Center City Charlotte. He would work at Royal Insurance, where he worked as a multi-line claims adjuster until 2006. He would retire for the first time from Sedgwick Claims Management Services in 2005. Still, he would come out of retirement to work for the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System in the After-School Enrichment Program. He would work at Pawtucket, Ashley Park, but retired for the last time at Blythe Elementary in 2014. Albert became a Master Mason at Unique Lodge #85, F&AM, PHA at 65 in 2001. He often said that being a Mason was the second-best thing that happened to him; the first would be meeting his wife Maria in 1990. They would have 30 years together and were married for 24 of those years. While they had no children together, they welcomed the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren as they arrived. He was proceeded to his heavenly home by his parents, his daughter Kim Norman Patterson, brother Gregory Perry, and sisters Beverly, Patsy, and Jennifer Perry. He leaves behind his wife of 24 years, Maria of the home, brothers Jonathan Perry of Bronx, New York, Kenny Perry (Zelda) of Charlotte, North Carolina, Ronald Perry (Vanessa) of High Point, North Carolina. Sisters Stephanie Hamilton (Michael) of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lauren Perry of New York, New York, and a special sister, Lucille Black of Charlotte. Three sons, Patrick Perry of Atlanta, Georgia, Marcus Boyette (Susan) of Stone Mountain, Georgia, and Cory Perry of Charlotte, North Carolina, two stepsons, Jason Harrison (Crystal) of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Joshua Harrison (Dawn) of Durham, North Carolina. He also leaves behind seven grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, and a host of cousins, nieces, and nephews.