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Helen Ruth (Povida) Perry

Posted 2018-01-21 by Judy Wight Branson
The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona
Friday, January 19, 2018, page 5a

Helen Ruth Podvia Perry passed away Sunday, Nov. 26. She was 96.
Helen was born Nov. 14, 1921, in Akron, Ohio, to Thomas and Mary
Podvia. Thomas Podvia worked for Firestone Tires. During the
Depression, Helen and her older sister, Jean, were cared for by
close relatives while their Podvia traveled internationally.

The Podvia family eventually settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where
Helen spent her teenage years. Well versed in secretarial and
accounting skills, Helen worked a number of jobs throughout the
country and moved to California after WWII. That was where she met
Joseph Raymond Perry. The couple married in 1949 and were happily
married for 55 years.

After raising three sons, Helen continued working in a
secretarial/accounting capacity, including working for the head of
the MARTA rail system in Atlanta during its infancy. In retirement,
she and her husband continued their love of travel, with long train
trips across the country. They eventually settled in Bradenton,
Florida. After her husband passed on in 2004, Helen moved to
Prescott, to be close to her middle son, Robert.

She is survived by her three sons -- Michael Perry of Jupiter,
Florida, Robert Perry of Prescott, and Joseph Perry of Alpharetta,
Georgia -- and her step-daughter, Beatrice Alexander and family of
Sacramento, California. Helen is also survived by her grandchildren,
Joe Perry IV and John Perry. She will be remembered by many for her
strength and humility. Others will remember her sense of humor.

She lived life with a quiet dignity and was admired by those who
knew her. Family was the most important thing to her. She will be
missed.

Information provided by survivors.




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