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 of

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) from 1974 until his death.

Early life

Perry was born in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

, 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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

in the Northern States Mission, headquartered in Chicago. He spent about 10 months in

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...

, where he was instrumental in forming a branch in that city. He also served for part of his mission based in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

. 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 or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. 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 Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, 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 , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

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

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church.

Education

Perry graduated from the Utah State Agricultural College (now

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

(USU)) in 1949 with a

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

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

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Later in 1951, CCA decided to appoint controllers in each of their stores. Perry was appointed as controller for the

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's North Central Idaho, north central region. It is the third-largest city in the Idaho Panhandle, northern Idaho region, behind Post Falls, Idaho, Pos ...

store. When he 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 7,161 at the 2020 census. Cla ...

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

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, California, New York, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Perry was in the retail business during his time in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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 college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

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, counselor in a

stake presidency 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 ha ...

, 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the church's

Massachusetts

Stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

. In early 1963, after moving to

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

, 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 The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

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 Harold Bingham Lee (March 28, 1899 – December 26, 1973) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 11th President of the Church (LDS Church), president o ...

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. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

on April 11, 1974. In 2004, Perry was asked by church president Gordon B. Hinckley to serve as

of the church's Europe Central

Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a 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 open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

, headquartered in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany. This was a position normally held by a member of the seventy. 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 or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

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

institute An institute is an organizational 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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

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

Family

Perry married Virginia C. Lee in the Logan Temple 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, United States. It was founded in 189 ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

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, 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 (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 Perry
*
L. 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