Leonilla (“Lee”) Green

Perry

August 17, 1927- August 20, 2017

Leonilla Green Perry died August 20th at the Vi Memory Care Center in Palo Alto, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 90.

Lee was born August 17, 1927, and grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania, one of five Green siblings, all of whom pre-deceased her. She attended Pennsylvania College for Women, and in 1947 married her high school sweetheart William (Bill) Perry. They moved to the Bay Area while Bill attended Stanford. After stints in Seattle, Idaho and State College, Pennsylvania, while Bill pursued his PhD in Math, Bill and Lee returned to the Bay Area, where they raised their five children.

Lee returned to college at San Jose State University and received her bachelor’s degree in 1965, and her master’s degree in accounting in 1967. She was certified as a CPA in 1973, and worked as a tax accountant at Hemming Morse in San Mateo, and later at Rasnake and Aiken in Arlington, Virginia.

Lee was an accomplished singer, performing in the Palo Alto Unitarian Church Choir, the California Bach Society and the Oratorio Society of Washington. She served as treasurer for several nonprofits, including the Stevenson House in Palo Alto. She loved the outdoors, camping in Yosemite and backpacking in the Sierras. She and Bill travelled widely throughout the United States, as well as many far-flung areas of the world.

While Bill served as Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, Lee was a very active “cabinet spouse.” Besides hosting many foreign dignitaries, she served on the Secretary of Defense Advisory Board for Military Families, for which she was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1997. She also received the Mother Teresa Medal in 1995 for her efforts to rebuild a hospital for Albanian children.

Lee was a fabulous cook, meticulous housekeeper, formidable organizer, warm and gracious host, loyal friend, and loving wife, sibling, mother, aunt, and grandmother. She is survived by her beloved husband of almost 70 years, Bill Perry; her five children, David (Cheryl Henry), Bill (Christy Stoll), Rebecca, Robin, and Mark (Melanie Peña); eight grandchildren, Ragani, Rebecca, Nicolas, Michael, Patrick, Lisa, Maxwell and Sophia; and two great-grandchildren, Sage and Peyton.

A memorial service is planned for September 7th at 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory can be made to the Stevenson House in Palo Alto, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, and The Washington Chorus in Washington, D.C.