L. Tom Perry

{{for|the Latter Day Saint academic and hymnwriter|Lee Tom Perry}}

{{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography

| name = L. Tom Perry

| image = Perrypres.jpg

| image_size = 200px

| alt = Photo of L. Tom Perry

| birth_name = Lowell Tom Perry

| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|08|05|}}

| birth_place = Logan, Utah, United States

| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|05|30|1922|08|05}}

| death_place = Salt Lake City, Utah

| resting_place = Salt Lake City Cemetery{{cite news |last1=Walch |first1=Tad |title=Elder L. Tom Perry's funeral planned for Friday |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865629835/Elder-L-Tom-Perrys-funeral-planned-for-Friday.html |agency=Deseret News |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602203909/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865629835/Elder-L-Tom-Perrys-funeral-planned-for-Friday.html?pg=all |archive-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}

| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|40.7745|-111.8635|type:landmark|display =inline}}

| spouse = Virginia Lee (1947–1974; deceased)
Barbara Dayton (1976–2015)

| children = 3 (including Lee Tom Perry)

| signature = L. Tom Perry signature.jpg

| signature_alt = Signature of L. Tom Perry

| position_or_quorum1 = Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

| called_by1 = Spencer W. Kimball

| start_date1 = {{start date|1974|04|06|}}

| end_date1 = {{end date|2015|05|30}}

| position_or_quorum2 = Apostle

| called_by2 = Spencer W. Kimball

| start_date2 = {{start date|1974|04|11}}

| end_date2 = {{end date|2015|05|30}}

| ordination_reason2 = Death of Harold B. Lee and reorganization of First Presidency

| end_reason2 =

| reorganization2 = Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund were ordained following deaths of Perry, Boyd K. Packer, and Richard G. Scott

| position_or_quorum3 = Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

| called_by3 = Harold B. Lee

| start_date3 = {{start date|1972|10|06}}

| end_date3 = {{end date|1974|04|06}}

| end_reason3 = Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

| alma_mater = Utah State University (B.S.)

| branch = United States Marine Corps

| serviceyears = 1944–1946

| rank =

| battles = World War II

| portals = LDS

| list_notes =

}}

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 (LDS Church) from 1974 until his death.{{Cite web |title=Elder L. Tom Perry |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/leader/l-tom-perry?lang=eng |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org}}

Early life

Perry was born in Logan, Utah, to Leslie Thomas Perry and his wife, Elsie Nora Sonne.{{Cite web |date=2015-05-31 |title=A timeline of important events in Elder L. Tom Perry's life |url=https://www.deseret.com/2015/5/31/20565821/a-timeline-of-important-events-in-elder-l-tom-perry-s-life |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=Deseret |language=en}} Perry, Utah is named for Perry's ancestor, Gustavus Adolphus Perry and his family, who were among the first settlers in that area.{{citation |author-link= Lee Tom Perry |first= Lee |last= Perry |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1975/02/elder-l-tom-perry-of-the-council-of-the-twelve?lang=eng |title= Elder L. Tom Perry of the Council of the Twelve |journal= Ensign |date=February 1975 |page= 9 |access-date=7 March 2015}}

From the time of Perry's birth until he was eighteen, his father was bishop of their LDS ward in Logan. From 1942 to 1944, Perry served as an LDS missionary in the Northern States Mission, headquartered in Chicago. He spent about 10 months in Marion, Ohio, 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 and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division.{{citation |url= https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/1996-09-21/elder-perry-creates-first-kiribati-stake-dedicates-islands-10539 |title= Elder Perry creates first Kiribati stake, dedicates islands |newspaper= Church News |date= 21 September 1996 |access-date=7 March 2015}} While in training Perry attended church and activities at the Adams Ward in Los Angeles.Perry. Peery. p. 126

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.{{citation |url= https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2011-01-15/constructing-a-chapel-and-testimonies-36550 |title= Constructing a chapel and testimonies |newspaper= Church News |date= 15 January 2011 |access-date=7 March 2015}} He was among the United States troops sent to occupy Japan after the war. While in Nagasaki, Perry coordinated a group of Marines to help rebuild a local Protestant church.{{citation |first= Loren C. |last= Dunn |author-link= Loren C. Dunn |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/1987/08/elder-l-tom-perry-serving-with-enthusiasm?lang=eng |title= Elder L. Tom Perry: Serving with Enthusiasm |journal= Tambuli |date=August 1987 |page= 9 |access-date=7 March 2015}}

Education

Perry graduated from the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University (USU)) in 1949 with a bachelor's degree 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.Lee Tom Perry. L. Tom Perry: An Exceptional Life. p. 171-172

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. 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 first took this position he lived in Lewiston, but later moved to Clarkston, Washington.Perry. Perry. p. 190

He was later involved in business jobs that took him to Washington, California, New York, and Massachusetts.

Perry was in the retail business during his time in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a fan of the Boston Red Sox 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

He also served in the LDS Church as an early-morning seminary teacher, as a counselor in a bishopric, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, and as president of the church's Boston Massachusetts Stake.

In early 1963, after moving to Scarsdale, New York, Perry was called simultaneously as a member of the New York Stake's high council, stake mission president, and special assistant to the president 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.Perry, An UnCommon Life, p. 232-233

General authority

File:L. Tom Perry.jpg

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 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 on April 11, 1974.

In 2004, Perry was asked by church president Gordon B. Hinckley to serve as president of the church's Europe Central Area, headquartered in Frankfurt, 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. While serving in this capacity, Perry initiated a more proactive institute program that emphasized meeting the social and intellectual needs of young single adult church members. In 2015, he met with Barack Obama and other LDS Church leaders at a meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.Burr, Thomas. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/obama-meets-with-top-mormon-leaders/2015/04/03/fc8bef96-da30-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html "Obama meets with top Mormon leaders"], The Washington Post, 2 April 2015. Retrieved on 17 March 2020.

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 at Brigham Young University from 1998 to 2005. Virginia Perry died of cancer in December 1974.{{sfnp|Stack|2011}} Their daughter, Barbara, died of cancer in 1983.

In 1976, Perry married Barbara Dayton.2008 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007) p. 36.

Death

In April 2015, Perry was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.{{citation |url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-l-tom-perry-elder-richard-g-scott-health |title= Church Issues Update on Health of Leaders |work= Newsroom |publisher= LDS Church |date= 2015-05-08 }} In May 2015, the church reported the aggressive cancer had spread and Perry died the following day, on May 30, 2015.Stack, Peggy Fletcher. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/how-a-new-mormon-apostle-is-chosen/2015/06/01/5ac4081a-0893-11e5-951e-8e15090d64ae_story.html "How a new Mormon apostle is chosen"], The Washington Post, 1 June 2015. Retrieved on 17 March 2020.{{Cite web |title=Mormon Leader L. Tom Perry Dies From Cancer at 92 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/religion/top-ranking-mormon-leader-l-tom-perry-dies-92-cancer-n367131 |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=NBC News |date=30 May 2015 |language=en}} At the time of his death, he was the third most senior and oldest living apostle in the church.Peggy Fletcher Stack, [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/51533534-80/perry-lds-conference-church.html.csp "Meet the unassuming, optimistic, LDS apostle"], The Salt Lake Tribune, published 4 April 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2014. His funeral was held on June 5, 2015.{{citation |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865630144/President-Monson-to-speak-at-Elder-L-Tom-Perry-funeral-Elder-Scott-in-attendance.html?pg=all|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150607184429/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865630144/President-Monson-to-speak-at-Elder-L-Tom-Perry-funeral-Elder-Scott-in-attendance.html?pg=all|url-status= dead|archive-date= June 7, 2015|title= President Monson, other LDS leaders and family honor Elder L. Tom Perry at funeral|work= Tad Watch|publisher= Deseret News|date= 2015-06-05}} Perry was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, next to his first wife, Virginia and his daughter, Barbara.

Works

;Books

{{citation |first= L. Tom |last= Perry |year= 2011 |title= Family ties: a message for fathers |publisher= Deseret Book |isbn= 978-1-60908-768-5 |oclc= 710044911 }}
{{citation |first= L. Tom |last= Perry |author-mask= 2 |year= 1996 |title= Living with enthusiasm |publisher= Deseret Book |isbn= 978-1-57345-136-9 |oclc= 34115910 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/livingwithenthus00perr }}

Honors

Humanitarian Award for Service to Others (2014) – Catholic Community Services of Utah (L. Tom and Barbara Perry)[https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/catholic-community-services-honors-mormon-apostle-humanitarian-work "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

{{citation |url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/leader-biographies/elder-l-tom-perry |title= Elder L. Tom Perry – Leader Biographies: Official Biographies for leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |work= Newsroom |date= January 2014 |publisher= LDS Church }}
{{cite news |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |date= 4 April 2011 |title=Meet the unassuming, optimistic LDS apostle |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/51533534-80/perry-lds-conference-church.html.csp |newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune|location=Salt Lake City |access-date=4 April 2015 }}

External links

[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/leader/l-tom-perry?lang=eng General Authorities and General Officers: Elder L. Tom Perry]
{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071005092216/http://gapages.com/perrylt1.htm Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: L. Tom Perry]}}
[http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/314 L. Tom Perry Papers, MSS 6774] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ L. Tom Perry Special Collections], Brigham Young University
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150107032547/http://findingaid.lib.byu.edu/viewItem/UA%205589 L. Tom Perry Special Collections records, UA 5589] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ L. Tom Perry Special Collections], Brigham Young University
[http://cdm15999.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15999coll24/searchterm/l.%20tom%20perry/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort Digital scans of some items from the above collections]

{{s-ttl|title= Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | years= April 11, 1974 – May 30, 2015}}

Category:1922 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:20th-century Mormon missionaries

Category:American Mormon missionaries in the United States

Category:American general authorities (LDS Church)

Category:Apostles (LDS Church)

Category:Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Category:Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery

Category:Deaths from cancer in Utah

Category:Deaths from thyroid cancer

Category:Latter Day Saints from California