Born Aug. 30, 1951
Montpelier, Vermont
Died Aug. 15, 2025
Tampa, Florida
Timothy Joseph Perry died on August 15, 2025 at his home in Tampa, Florida. He was born on August 30, 1951 in Montpelier, VT. Tim is survived by his siblings Betty Tassie, Michael Perry, Ruby Perry, Dave Perry, Mary Patricia Perry and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Nelson and Kathryn Perry, his stepmother Gene Perry and his sister Dorothy Stewart O’Mara.
Tim grew up in Montpelier, the fourth of the seven Perry children. He made his way through St. Michael’s School, where the nuns tried – unsuccessfully – to tame his curly red hair and his freedom-loving spirit. He always loved animals, and opened his Florida home to an ever-changing array of feral cats, but he had two all-time favorite pets. One was Oscar the cat who was with him when he died and Black Dog who predeceased him.
Throughout Tim’s life, his best friend, fishing partner and drinking buddy was his brother Mike. He spent much of the Vermont portion of his adult life in his beloved Champlain Islands. Before moving south for warmer climes, he made his home in Grand Isle where his mother and maternal ancestors are buried. His ashes will be returned to the Islands and to Lake Champlain as he requested. We will remember him in his favorite job as a ferry captain for Lake Champlain ferries.
Tim was a self-taught thinker, a voracious reader, and a fixer of all things mechanical. In his Florida years, he smoked cigars and built electric bikes from parts ordered online. For years after his dad’s death in 1995, Tim helped his stepmother Gene with routine home repairs. He followed the news and had strong opinions about…well, everything. He lived every day of his life exactly as he chose.
His siblings started doing weekly Zoom calls at the beginning of the pandemic. Tim never skipped one until the day he died. We will all miss his gruff but attentive presence.
There is no memorial service planned, though the family will gather in the fall somewhere on the shores of Lake Champlain to spread his ashes.
