John Perry Iii

Beloved and adoring father, loving son and brother, and dear friend- John Madison Perry III, passed away 1/12/21 in Denver, CO after injuries sustained while skiing.

John was born on 9/24/71 to Joan (Pirie) and John ‘ Jack’ M. Perry, JR in Berlin, VT. He was almost three weeks late- this caused a lot of amusement to everyone except his mother since he was well known to run on his own schedule. Growing up in Barre, VT he enjoyed a childhood surrounded by family and friends. He graduated from Spaulding High School and The University of Vermont.

John moved to Denver, Colorado in 1995 to pursue his career in the financial services industry. He said that Denver was the perfect place since he could golf one day and ski the next plus he loved that Denver has 4 major sports teams. With his lifelong friends by his side he lived a life of adventure and travel. His group of friends did everything together, including traveling to Capri, Italy for his wedding in 2003. He was proud that so many of his friends ended up in Colorado and he felt that he was the inspiration for most of them.

An avid sports fan and athlete, John loved the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Red Sox. He also maintained a respectful balance of his alliances for the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.He recently traveled to London with dear friends to see the Red Sox play the Yankees at Wembley stadium- and tacked on a solo extension trip to visit Scotland. He enjoyed golf, road cycling, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, fly fishing, and skiing. He loved music and concerts and traveled as often as he could with his friends to see his favorite Vermont band, Phish.

John worked at TIAA in Denver for almost 25 years and had recently earned a promotion to Product Director. A creative and intelligent colleague, he was always counted on for insight and to add a different perspective. He leaves behind hundreds of friends at TIAA as well as several fantasy football leagues that won’t be the same without his passionate strategy and trash talk.

John was a devoted father to his two children- Fletcher Frederick Perry(15) and Fiona Capri Perry(12). His kindness and sense of humor made for adventures in all they did together. He took them on annual trips to Kennebunkport, Maine; Lake George, NY (with a stop to play the ponies in Saratoga); Raleigh, NC and Vermont. They were planning a trip together for his 50th birthday to either Paris or Japan. He loved to cook for them and had a gift for making picky kids eat. He loved to ski, cycle, and hike with his kids- his most recent adventure was teaching Fletcher to drive. He was the proud master of ‘ Blue’, an Australian cattle dog.

John is survived by Fletcher and Fiona and their mother (his former wife and dearest friend) Molly Melanson Perry and her husband, Lindsay Whetton. He is also survived by his parents- Joan and Jay Trombley of Barre, VT and Jack and Faith Perry of Raleigh, NC; his two adoring sisters and their families- Kimberley and Brian Kellam and Rebecca and Brian O’Connor; his nieces and nephews: Kyle and Madison Hicks and Erica and Liam O’Connor; beloved aunts and uncles and cousins; and countless lifelong and new friends. He now joins his niece, Shannon O’Connor, his very special great grandmother, Mildred ‘Gram’ Holden, and his inspiring black lab ‘Rory’- whom he loved.

In the face of this unimaginable loss and senseless tragedy, we search for meaning and comfort. John often talked with his kids about how he thought many of earth’s mysteries would be solved in his lifetime. He said that the only true mystery left was what happens when you’re no longer on this earth. Because of this, Fiona and Fletcher suggested that he is smiling because he knows something that no one on earth knows (and he always loved to have the upper hand).

In lieu of flowers please donate to your local animal shelter in his honor. If you’d like to help out the family you can contribute to Fletcher and Fiona’s college funds via Ugift529.com . Please reference code X3J-L8Y for Fletcher and code M3G-H4Y for Fiona. His family and friends are planning a celebration of his life to be held in the early Fall, 2021.