Robert Perry
1945-02-17 2021-03-23
Virginia Beach, VA - Robert Allen Perry departed this life to be with his Lord and Savior on 23 March 2021. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom Watson Perry, Sr. and Mabel Virginia Allen Perry of, respectively, Wingate, NC and Oceana (Virginia Beach), VA.
A native Virginian, Bob was born in Norfolk on February 17, 1945. He was a French Horn player in the Norview High School Band where he graduated in 1963. Bob volunteered for military service in 1965 and after attending “spy school” at the Army’s Fort Holabird in 1966, he became a Counterintelligence Special Agent in Miliary Intelligence. After working for over a year in the Army Intelligence Field Office in Cincinnati, OH, he served a combat tour with the 52nd Military Intelligence Detachment, 11th Infantry Brigade, American Division in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 where he handled agents and other operatives gathering intelligence for the US Forces. He also organized and accompanied field combat missions to exploit information or to capture suspected enemy assets. He survived an attack on his own jeep during the Tet Offensive on January 3, 1968. In September 1968 he was the first Vietnam combat veteran to attend Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk/Virginia Beach where he graduated with a degree in history in 1972.
While at VWC, he was the Archon (President) of the Sigma Delta Phi fraternity, the President of the Young Republicans Club and voted into Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges for 1971-72.
Bob worked for 14 years with the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority and was the Assistant Personnel Director when he left in 1984 to start his own computer software systems design business. He founded Client Specific Systems, Inc (CSSI) a computer database developer with offices in Hampton, VA. CSSI’s software technicians developed computer database systems for clients which included systems for NASA to track low-gravity mission experiments on the International Space Station. CSSI was an early pioneer in the transmission of NASA mission data over telephone lines which eventually became a common practice as a part of today’s internet. As President of CSSI, NASA sent him to Europe twice in 1989 and 1990 to demonstrate and coordinate telephonic mission data transmissions with the European Space Agency.
In 1996 he semi-retired and according to his own admission, “spent too much money and got bored.” In 1999, he began yet another career, this time in condominium and homeowner association maintenance and management. In 2011 he finally retired for good as a Portfolio Manager from The Select Group, a community association management firm in Virginia Beach. Almost immediately he began serving as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Great Neck Landing Condominium Association, where he lived for more than 30 years.
Bob is survived by his brother, Tom W. Perry, Jr. (wife Sharon) of Cocoa Beach, FL., his nephew Kenneth C. Perry (children Mara and Zane) of Salisbury, MD, and nieces Amy and Vanessa and their children. He is also survived by several cousins and other Perry family members of Wingate, NC and members of the Allen family of Virginia Beach. “Uncle Bob” will be remembered fondly and missed by his family. While he never married, Bob had many good, personal life-long friends including Jesse Fanshaw (wife Mary), Tom Belangia (wife Donnie) and Ken Eichelberger (wife Judy). Each and every calendar quarter wherein each of them had a birthday, Jesse, Tommy, Kenny and Bob would go out for dinner. The “Birthday Boys” did this every calendar quarter for over 40 years. Bob also had numerous professional colleagues and acquaintances from his various careers. He will be greatly missed by his friends.
The family will receive friends at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Great Neck Chapel on Saturday, March 27, 2021, from 9 to 10 am. The funeral will be held in the funeral home chapel at 10 a.m., followed by interment at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, Bob would ask that a donation be made to St. Mary’s Children’s Home, 6171 Kempsville Cir, Norfolk, VA 23502. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.hollomon-brown.com.
A native Virginian, Bob was born in Norfolk on February 17, 1945. He was a French Horn player in the Norview High School Band where he graduated in 1963. Bob volunteered for military service in 1965 and after attending “spy school” at the Army’s Fort Holabird in 1966, he became a Counterintelligence Special Agent in Miliary Intelligence. After working for over a year in the Army Intelligence Field Office in Cincinnati, OH, he served a combat tour with the 52nd Military Intelligence Detachment, 11th Infantry Brigade, American Division in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 where he handled agents and other operatives gathering intelligence for the US Forces. He also organized and accompanied field combat missions to exploit information or to capture suspected enemy assets. He survived an attack on his own jeep during the Tet Offensive on January 3, 1968. In September 1968 he was the first Vietnam combat veteran to attend Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk/Virginia Beach where he graduated with a degree in history in 1972.
While at VWC, he was the Archon (President) of the Sigma Delta Phi fraternity, the President of the Young Republicans Club and voted into Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges for 1971-72.
Bob worked for 14 years with the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority and was the Assistant Personnel Director when he left in 1984 to start his own computer software systems design business. He founded Client Specific Systems, Inc (CSSI) a computer database developer with offices in Hampton, VA. CSSI’s software technicians developed computer database systems for clients which included systems for NASA to track low-gravity mission experiments on the International Space Station. CSSI was an early pioneer in the transmission of NASA mission data over telephone lines which eventually became a common practice as a part of today’s internet. As President of CSSI, NASA sent him to Europe twice in 1989 and 1990 to demonstrate and coordinate telephonic mission data transmissions with the European Space Agency.
In 1996 he semi-retired and according to his own admission, “spent too much money and got bored.” In 1999, he began yet another career, this time in condominium and homeowner association maintenance and management. In 2011 he finally retired for good as a Portfolio Manager from The Select Group, a community association management firm in Virginia Beach. Almost immediately he began serving as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Great Neck Landing Condominium Association, where he lived for more than 30 years.
Bob is survived by his brother, Tom W. Perry, Jr. (wife Sharon) of Cocoa Beach, FL., his nephew Kenneth C. Perry (children Mara and Zane) of Salisbury, MD, and nieces Amy and Vanessa and their children. He is also survived by several cousins and other Perry family members of Wingate, NC and members of the Allen family of Virginia Beach. “Uncle Bob” will be remembered fondly and missed by his family. While he never married, Bob had many good, personal life-long friends including Jesse Fanshaw (wife Mary), Tom Belangia (wife Donnie) and Ken Eichelberger (wife Judy). Each and every calendar quarter wherein each of them had a birthday, Jesse, Tommy, Kenny and Bob would go out for dinner. The “Birthday Boys” did this every calendar quarter for over 40 years. Bob also had numerous professional colleagues and acquaintances from his various careers. He will be greatly missed by his friends.
The family will receive friends at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Great Neck Chapel on Saturday, March 27, 2021, from 9 to 10 am. The funeral will be held in the funeral home chapel at 10 a.m., followed by interment at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, Bob would ask that a donation be made to St. Mary’s Children’s Home, 6171 Kempsville Cir, Norfolk, VA 23502. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.hollomon-brown.com.