“People know who you are by those you associate with and I am glad to associate with Lou and Joan Perry,” Bishop Edward Malesic said. “You inspire me.”
The Perrys, members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Wadsworth, received the Archbishop Edward Hoban Award for distinguished service to the Diocese of Cleveland at the 2022 Deo Gratias Day of Recognition. The Nov. 20 event at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe was attended by about 200 and included a Mass of thanksgiving, brunch and remarks. It was organized by the Catholic Community Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the diocese. Frank Legan, chair, Catholic Charities Board of Directors, served as master of ceremonies.
(See photo gallery above.)
Lou Perry is a 1957 graduate of St. Vincent High School in Akron and Joan Perry is a 1959 graduate of St. Mary High School in Akron. Perry was a standout football player in high school and at Kent State University, where he played alongside his lifelong friend, Lou Holtz.
For many years, Lou Perry worked as director of engineering at Firestone before starting his own business, Louis Perry & Associates. His wife supported him in the business, even serving as CFO. They sold the firm in 2014.
The Perrys, married 61 years, have four adult children. One daughter, Tracey Arnone, is associate superintendent of schools for the diocese, and a son-in-law, Chris Easton, is assistant director of finance for the diocese.
The couple are longtime benefactors of several diocesan efforts, including the recent Heart of a Shepherd campaign that financed seminary improvements, Catholic Charities and Catholic education. They are strong believers and supporters of Catholic education.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Lou Perry said. “It is an honor to join the people and organizations who received this award previously. I feel a little like being in heaven on earth being with all of you.”
Perry called Archbishop Hoban, the diocesan shepherd after whom the award is named, a visionary. “Catholic Charities, Catholic education and religious vocations were his priorities. They also are Joan’s and mine,” he said, adding if these entities are supported, “the world will be better … We have to find a way to help more,” Perry added.
Mentioning his friend Holtz, Perry said he had three rules for living: do what is right, do it to the best of your ability and show people you care.
He again cited the importance of Catholic education, noting the schools are building tomorrow’s leaders and by supporting them, “We are going to make a difference.”
Father Dave Bline, Saint Mary Seminary spiritual director and a close friend of the Perrys, introduced them and shared some personal stories about his relationship with the family.
“You’re building a kingdom of God,” he told the couple. “Thank you for loving Jesus first. Thank you for loving your children, your children’s children and the Church’s children.”
Bishop Malesic celebrated Mass before the brunch and award presentation. Concelebrants included Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost, Father Bline, Father Samuel Ciccolini, a retired priest, Father Joseph Labak, Sacred Heart pastor, and Father Mark Latcovich, president/rector of Borromeo and Saint Mary seminaries.
In his homily, the bishop recalled a few years after his priestly ordination when his parents said they planned to renovate their home. They wanted new wallpaper, carpeting, paint, drapes and furniture. He reminded them the coffee table needed to be replaced and his mother told him that he was the reason for that, something he admitted. As a child and teenager, he often put his feet on the coffee table, which eventually wore down the finish. Despite repeated warnings from his mother, the bishop said he continued to put his feet on the table whenever she was out of the room. But he learned to remove them before she came back into the room.
“It became second nature – mom out, feet up; mom back, feet down. So much for parental authority,” he quipped.
Bishop Malesic compared this with the fall of Adam and Eve, noting humans have had a problem accepting the authority of God since that time.
“They took that first bite of rebellion and the world has never been the same since,” he added.
Nov. 20 was the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the bishop said, a relatively new feast in the Church established in 1925 by Pope Pious XI so the Church could make the rule of Jesus over the world very clear.
“We are here at this holy Mass because somehow we have found our salvation in Christ. We stand with Jesus. We ask him to rule our lives. We submit ourselves to his authority, his teaching and his way of life,” the bishop said. “As St. Paul said, ‘Christ is pre-eminent,’” he added.
“On the cross, Jesus said he wanted to restore our friendship with God by forgiving our sins and at the end, he said, ‘It is finished.’ In other words, ‘Mission accomplished,’” the bishop said.
In the Gospel, Jesus was told to save himself, but he had no need to do that, the bishop said. “He was already one with the Father. No, he did not come to save himself, he came to save us.”
Referring to the coffee table story, Bishop Malesic said there is a moral to the story.
“Being obedient to mom saves coffee tables. But being obedient to Jesus and letting him rule our lives saves souls – hopefully, ours included,” he added.
At the brunch, the group also heard a brief presentation from David Monter, program manager at St. John the Baptist Recovery Outreach Center in Akron, a Catholic Charities ministry that provides peer support for those recovering from substance abuse.