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From Bill Holland as given to him by Bryce's wife Fran.
Bryce Perry suddenly died on June 2, 2020. He was 74 years old.
There will be a memorial service for Bryce Perry on Zoom at 5:00 pm EDT, Sunday, 6/28/20. If you'd like to attend, email me at wm.holland@gmail.com so I can send you the Zoom link. --Bill Holland
Bryce was born on January 27, 1946 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. His family moved to Albany NY, and Lewiston/Auburn ME before settling in Arlington MA. While in high school, Bryce was active in the chess club, did stop-motion photography, and published a newspaper called the Spectator.
At Antioch College in Ohio, Bryce was involved in the student-run fire department, including serving as engineer, responsible for two trucks and an ambulance. While at college, he married Frances Hamaker from Palo Alto CA. After graduation, they served in the Peace Corps, stationed in the town of Labasa in the Fiji Islands where they taught science and math at Sangam High School.
After Peace Corps service, they settled in Palo Alto. Bryce worked at SRI in the Molecular Physics lab, at Spectra Physics as a product manager, and at ILC Technologies, managing space station lighting. While at SRI, Bryce earned an MSEE degree at Stanford University.
In the 80s Bryce was active in the Palo Alto chess club and organized large chess tournaments. He was also active in the boy scouts, serving as Scout Master. After early retirement, he worked in IT, as a photographer, square danced, and was learning to teach and call square dancing. Starting in 1999, he also enjoyed going to the Burning Man arts festival in Nevada more than a dozen times.
Bryce was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto. Bryce served on the board of trustees and as president of the board. He founded and led men’s groups.
Bryce was preceded in death by his parents, John E. and Helen K. Perry of Arlington MA, his brother Fred Perry of MA and his sister Jana Born (James) of NH. He leaves his wife, Fran, two sons John (Julie) of San Diego and Michael of Palo Alto and three grandsons, Shaun, Reid, and Scott.
By the way, Fran's email is Frances Perry <franhp@aol.com>.
Hi Bonnie,
Sorry to say I found an article on Bryce of his passing, due to a
heart attack. Maybe you could send his wife, Fran, a card if you have
his address. He lived in or near Palo Alto, a suburb of San Fran, which is
also a hot spot for COVID. At the 50th reunion, he had his picture taken
with me, but I have never seen it. We were homeroom mates all through high
school. I sat between Bryce and John Perry. Was planning on attending the
55th reunion, but a couple of things unexpectedly came up - one being my
husband had prostate cancer surgery.
Thanks for keeping the Class of 1964 together and informed through this
website and please keep safe!
Diana Perry Gregory
760-815-7029 cell
The article can be found at:
https://www.iagsdchistory.org/historywiki/index.php/Bryce_Perry https://www.iagsdchistory.org/historywiki/index.php/Bryce_Perry
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Walter R. Smith
I am so sorry to hear of Bryce's passing... way too early.
When I first met him at Junior High East in 1958, he was a gangly, somewhat shy guy with a bashful smile who became one of my new friends in the competitive "AT" program inaugurated after Sputnik. I played with Bryce on our 8th grade chess team along with Bill Robertie, Kenny Walters, and Dean Walton, and remember we had maybe 2-3 matches because the only other team we played was Junior High West! Later, at AHS, I was one of his subcribers to The Spectator literary newletter and remember helping him print it a couple of times in his basement on Draper Ave. I also remember him always being a contender with interesting projects at the annual Science Fair.
I stayed in CA for many years after returning from Vietnam, and eventually ended up in the Bay Area from '73 to '94. I had an Urban Planning consulting practice and became an avid Apple business user that entire time. I loved to attend the annual Applefest and MacWorld Expo trade shows at the underground Moscone Center in San Francisco, where I usually spent 2 days buying new "toys" and attending seminars. One year, I squeezed into a crowded elevator to get down to the exhibition hall and saw a name tag in my face -- "Bryce Perry." I thought, there couldn't be more than one, looked up, saw his smiling face above the crowd, and reintroduced myself. I had no idea he had been living in Palo Alto, only about 90 minutes from Santa Rosa for so many years. We crossed paths a few times during the very crowded show and did have a chance to catch up a little. From then on, I would seek him out at every reunion we both attended...
I had no idea that he was in the Peace Corps in Fiji -- I had an associate in my business that spent 2 years and was one of the few people on the West Coast who could have spoken Fijian with Bryce. Square dancing? Burning Man 12 times? I never knew about these interests in his life and would have loved to talk about the latter. He was a brilliant, congenial, kind and pious man I will always remember fondly, and my heart goes out to those who loved him.
--> WALT
William (Bill) Holland
Bryce and I spent many hours together in high school. I remember riding the subway to downtown to get a carton of mimeograph paper for use with Bryce's Gestetner mimeograph machine that we used to print "The Spectator". We competed with each other and Bill Robertie, among others, over grades in school, especially math and science classes. We participated in the Library Corps program to assist the librarians and at a party for the corps we switched name tags. The librarian was amused.
Doris A. Duggan
So sorry to hear of Bryce's passing. I was quite surprised and had wondered why he did not attend the 55th reunion last fall. I so remember him at the 50th reunion. He was so happy to be back among his friends and classmates. My memory of him roaming the Town Hall Auditorium with his camera slung over his shoulder as he asked us all to stay in touch will always stay in my memory. He seemed so thrilled to be with all of us after all the years. My prayers are with him and his family and friends.
Dodie Duggan
William (Bill) Holland
There will be a memorial service for Bryce on the Zoom platform this Sunday (6/28) at 5:00pm ET. If you want to attend, just let me know at wm.holland@gmail.com and I will send you the link information.
Bonnie M. Lewis (Hayner)
From Ron Pierce:
One brief, but enduring high school memory: It’s Monday morning in the middle of dreary winter, and I’m sitting there in homeroom in a churlish enough mood already, wet shoes, sleet ticking on the window. I’m wondering what minimal chance I might have getting my Latin done by third period. And in comes Bryce like a perfect day in summer, grinning in that way he had, coming over to sit in the desk the next row over from me. “Morning, Ron,” he says. “God, we’re so lucky to be living here in New England.” And the foul weather in my head clears up. Bryce could do that. One felt better—sunnier—in his company.