Raymond Sweetlove Perry Jr., of Plymouth, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 31, at the age of 86. Ray is survived by his wife Marilyn T. Perry of Plymouth, his daughter, Elizabeth P. Fusco of Wellfleet, and his son Thomas S. Perry Sr. of Foxborough. Ray also leaves behind four devoted grandchildren: Faith S. Perry of Berkeley, CA, Thomas (TJ) S. Perry Jr. of Dayton, OH, Daniel W. Scanlon, and Lydia A. Scanlon both of Wellfleet.
After graduating with both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1961, Ray had a successful career in information systems. He was a recognized leader in the industry just as computing expanded into common business use. He worked at Hamilton Standard and while there he helped develop the breathing unit for the Apollo spacesuit. He later worked for Xerox, Burroughs/Unisys, where he became its first-ever vice president of IT, and then Avon Cosmetics, where he was its first-ever CIO. Ray also served as the CIO at Pitney Bowes, reporting directly to the chairman.
In the field of education, Ray was proud to have been a professor at the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business as well as a visiting professor at Cornell University. He also served on the industry advisory boards at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, Wayne State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He held the position of chairman of the North American Council of Information Management.
In recognition of his prominence in the field, Ray was featured in Forbes as well as many information management journals like Beyond Computing, Outlook, MIS Week, Information Week, Datamation, and Computer World in which he was recognized as being the reason Avon entered the list of the world’s top 100 most effective users of information processing. Of all his accomplishments, however, one in which he took particular pride was having created the very first at-work, on-site day care center in the state of New York for his employees at Avon.
Ray served as a volunteer for many organizations in his life. He was an assistant scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America, a trustee at the Congregational Church in Easton, CT, and provided back-office systems creation for the United Fund of Detroit and the United Negro College Fund. After his retirement, Ray enjoyed living in Newport, RI, where he continued in various volunteer endeavors including interviewing student candidates for Cornell and he was an 18-year volunteer for AARP, preparing free tax returns for those senior citizens in need.
Those who knew Ray well also knew how much he loved his sailboat, Yankee, upon which he cruised the Great Lakes and the Northeastern seaboard. He was vice commodore at the Gross Pointe Club in the mid-eighties and then later became heavily involved as a member of the New York Yacht Club. Having been certified at the national level with US Sailing, Ray served as a race committee official at NYYC for many years ultimately gaining emeritus status. Ray made lifelong friends on the water and enjoyed many adventures full of fellowship and laughter.
He will be missed greatly by all those who loved his sense of humor and camaraderie. More than anything else, Ray loved his wife and family who mourn his loss deeply.
A period of visitation will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Cartmell-Davis Life Celebration Funeral Home, 619 State Road, Plymouth. A memorial service will begin at 4 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Susan B. Komen Foundation (www.komen.org) in his name in honor of his mother, Lucile Ryon Giffin and his sister, Joanne Perry Hurley.