Willliam H. "Bill" Perry

William H. (Bill) Perry, 86, cast off for the seas of eternity April 19, 2024 after a valiant struggle with cancer. He was born on September 26, 1937 in Delaware, Ohio to Ora Virgil and Mary Ann Perry. Bill grew up in Detroit, graduating from Southwestern HS in 1955. He was proud to have served with the US Army where he spent some of his time in Thailand.

Bill is survived by his wife Catherine (Cathy) and his three children Warren Michael Perry, Stacey Marie Troy (Jeff), and Michael Wilson Perry along with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Bill worked for nearly 30 years at General Motors starting as a detail draftsman of various car parts and was promoted throughout his career, lastly to an Engineering group manager in the Body Structures Group at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. Concurrently, he and his friend and co-worker “Bud” Gratton opened Trackside Hobbies in 1971 on Main Street in Rochester Hills. The store featured model trains and airplanes along with various other hobby supplies.

Bill and Cathy were married March 29, 1985 and lived in Rochester Hills. Bill was an avid sailor and loved to be out on the water. He started out with a Hobie Cat on a small lake and graduated to a 37-ft Hunter sailboat named Paladin. Most weekends were spent on the boat and sailing on Lake St. Clair with the Windjammer Cruising Club. Once every summer they ventured on to the Great Lakes for a 2-3-week trip and visited various ports of call in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario.

After retirement Bill and Cathy built a home in Harbor Springs on Chestnut Valley Golf Course and moved north in 2002. They sold the big boat and took up golf.  Bill still missed the sailing; so they bought a little rental cottage on Burt Lake where they kept a small 21-foot sail boat. To please Cathy’s wish to enjoy a less adventurous retirement, Bill traded the sailboat for a pontoon to calmly ride around the lake and occasionally catch a fish or two. Bill also enjoyed the winter months up north going snowmobiling and cross country skiing when there was enough snow.

More than anything, Bill really loved going on trips on his motorcycle with his buddy Steve or by himself. He put several thousand miles on his Gold Wing every year riding exciting roads like the Tail of the Dragon in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. He ventured as far south as Georgia. He was convinced that he would get to ride that bike one more time this year, but it was not meant to be. Hope they have good trails in heaven.

There are no arrangements planned at this time.

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