Obituary of Marie Perry

Marie Perry, 88, passed away on Monday, August 9, 2010 at the Willowbrook Nursing and Rehab Center in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. The eldest of five siblings, she was born Marie Helen Roth on September 7, 1921 in Jefferson, Wisconsin to Albert C. and Martha (K�mmerer) Roth. The family soon moved to Madison, and then to Middleton, where she graduated from high school in 1939. She was married to George Northey Perry on April 6, 1940. During the early years of their marriage, they lived on the Perry farm in Oakland township, where Marie was a founding member of the Oakland Young Mothers� Club, which is still holding monthly meetings after 70 years. She was also a 4-H leader and a Cub Scout den mother. In 1954, Marie and George bought the Swiss Wheel Cheese House restaurant at the junction of Highways 12 & 18 in Cambridge, which they ran for some four years. In the late1950s, she went to work as a secretary for the Rodgers & Vance law office in Fort Atkinson. During much of the 1960s and 70s, she was a familiar face in Cambridge as secretary and insurance processor for Drs. Amundson and Nora, then for Dr. George Nemec, and briefly, for Dr. George Gay. In the late 1970s, Marie and George moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to run the South Beach Motel, but the motel was destroyed by Hurricane Allen in 1980. She then went to work as a benefits counselor for the H-E-B Grocery Company in San Antonio, retiring from there in 1988. Marie was elected president of the H-E-B Retirees group and was active in the Crownhill Park Neighborhood Association in San Antonio. She lived for a short time in Colorado Springs, Colorado then returned to Cambridge in 2002. She was an avid reader, an enthusiastic word puzzler, a creative crafter, and an inveterate political �junkie.� Marie is survived by four children: Jim (Marilynn) Perry of Fort Atkinson, and Mary (Carl) Hafemann, Tom Perry, and Peter Perry, all of Cambridge; two sisters: Betty Krause of Madison and Dorothy (Dale) O�Donnell of Fenton, Illinois; two brothers: Robert (Betty) Roth and Donald (Mary) Roth, both of Madison; seven grandchildren: Julie (Dave) Verban, Kevin Hafemann, Sandy (Jim) Johnson, Tim (Darla) Perry, Jenny Perry, Evy Bakken, and Ryan (Kathy) Perry; nine great-grandchildren; one step-great-great-grandson; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband George in June 1995, beloved sister-in-law Kathryn Roth in November 2002, and infant son William in 1944. There will be a memorial service on August 21, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 501 Skogen Road, Cambridge, Wisconsin. Friends may call after 11:00 a.m. at the church on the day of the service. A lunch will be served in the church hall following the service. Inurnment in Ward Cemetery in Oakland will take place at a later date with immediate family attending.