Lowell Tom Perry (August 5, 1922 – May 30, 2015) was an American businessman and religious leader who was a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) from 1974 until his death.

Early life

Perry was born in Logan, Utah, to Leslie Thomas Perry and his wife, Elsie Nora Sonne. Perry, Utah is named for Perry's ancestor, Gustavus Adolphus Perry and his family, who were among the first settlers in that area. From the time of Perry's birth until he was eighteen, his father was

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of their LDS

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in Logan. From 1942 to 1944, Perry served as an LDS

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the Northern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, headquartered in Chicago. He spent about 10 months in

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 36,837 at the ...

, where he was instrumental in forming a branch in that city. He also served for part of his mission based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After returning from his mission he joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and was assigned to the

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Caroli ...

. While in training Perry attended church and activities at the Adams Ward in Los Angeles. Perry was then part of the American forces that landed on Saipan, and remained there for about a year. While there he participated in the construction of an LDS chapel on the island. He was among the United States troops sent to occupy Japan after the war. While in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

, Perry coordinated a group of Marines to help rebuild a local

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

church.

Education

Perry graduated from the Utah State Agricultural College (now

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

(USU)) in 1949 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in finance. While he was a student at USU, Perry served as president of the university's Associated Students.

Employment

Perry's first job out of college was working as administrative assistant working for the USU Extension Service. He also took graduate courses in finance during this time. In 1950, before his second child was born, Perry took a Christmas retail season job with C.C. Anderson's (CCA) Department Store in Logan, Utah. CCA was a division of

Allied Stores Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stor ...

. In early 1951, Perry took a job with CCA at its corporate headquarters in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

. Later in 1951, CCA decided to appoint controllers in each of their stores. Perry was appointed as controller for the Lewiston, Idaho store. When he took first took this position he lived in Lewiston, but later moved to

Clarkston, Washington Clarkston is a city in Asotin County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA metropolitan area, and is located west of Lewiston, Idaho, across the Snake River. The population of Clarkston was 7,229 at the 2010 census. Wal ...

. He was later involved in business jobs that took him to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, California, New York, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Perry was in the retail business during his time in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. He became a fan of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and threw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game on May 8, 2004.

Early church service

In addition to his mission to the Northern States, Perry served as an LDS group leader while on Saipan. He oversaw more convert baptisms in this position than while on his mission. He also served in the LDS Church as an early-morning

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

teacher, as a counselor in a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

high councilor A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

, counselor in a stake presidency, and as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the church's

Massachusetts Stake. In early 1963, after moving to

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

, Perry was called simultaneously as a member of the New York Stake's high council, stake mission president, and special assistant to the

of the church's Eastern States Mission. In these assignments, he worked with Bernard P. Brockbank and Wilburn C. West in overseeing the creation and implementation of the LDS Church's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

General authority

Perry was called as a general authority and Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1972. The death of church president Harold B. Lee created a vacancy in the

Quorum of the Twelve In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies or ( quorums) of the church hie ...

when Spencer W. Kimball, who had been serving as quorum president, became church president. Perry was sustained as a member of the Twelve on April 6, 1974, and was ordained an

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

on April 11, 1974. In 2004, Perry was asked by church president

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

to serve as

of the church's Europe Central

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

, headquartered in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, Germany. This was a position normally held by a member of the

seventy 70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71. In mathematics 70 is: * a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes. * a Pell number. * the seventh pentagonal number. * the fourth tridecagonal number. * the fif ...

. This made Perry one of the most senior officials of the church ever to be stationed away from

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. While serving in this capacity, Perry initiated a more proactive

institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

program that emphasized meeting the social and intellectual needs of young single adult church members. In 2015, he met with

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and other LDS Church leaders at a meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Family

Perry married Virginia C. Lee in the

Logan Temple The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) was completed in 1884, and is the fourth temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second temple built in the Rocky Mountain ...

on July 18, 1947. They had three children together. Perry's son, Lee Tom Perry, is an academic and was dean of the

Marriott School of Business The Marriott School of Business is the business school of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1891 and renamed ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

from 1998 to 2005. Virginia Perry died of cancer in December 1974. Their daughter, Barbara, died of cancer in 1983. In 1976, Perry married Barbara Dayton.

Death

In April 2015, Perry was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. In May 2015, the church reported the aggressive cancer had spread and Perry died the following day, on May 30, 2015. At the time of his death, he was the third most senior and oldest living apostle in the church. His funeral was held on June 5, 2015. Perry was buried in the

Salt Lake City Cemetery The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States. Description The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...

, next to his first wife, Virginia and his daughter, Barbara.

Works

;Books * *

Honors

*Humanitarian Award for Service to Others (2014) –

Catholic Community Services of Utah Catholic Community Services is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City that operates various programs in Salt Lake City and Ogden designed to provide help and create hope for those impacted by homelessness as food insecurity. CCS ...

(L. Tom and Barbara Perry)"Catholic Community Services Honors Mormon Apostle and Wife"
mormonnewsroom.org, 6 November 2014.

Gallery

File:Perry1947yearbook.jpg, Black and white Utah State University yearbook photograph of L. Tom Perry. Image dates from 1947. File:Perrypres.jpg, Photo of L. Tom Perry. Date unidentified. File:Perry1980.jpg, Black and white photo of L. Tom Perry from around 1980. File:Perry2000.jpg, Two color photographs of L. Tom Perry from around 2000.

Notes

References

* *

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder L. Tom PerryL. Tom Perry Papers, MSS 6774
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

L. Tom Perry Special Collections records, UA 5589
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Digital scans of some items from the above collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, L. Tom 1922 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in the United States American general authorities (LDS Church) Apostles (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Utah Deaths from thyroid cancer Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) Military personnel from Utah People from Clarkston, Washington People from Lewiston, Idaho People from Logan, Utah United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marines Utah State University alumni American expatriates in Japan