Perry - David Lee Perry was born on May 23, 1962 at St. Mary's Hospital in Livonia, Michigan to Lewis and Judy (Smith) Perry.  He was the 2 ^nd of three sons.  He enjoyed a childhood in rural Williamston, Michigan where he was surrounded by a loving family, amazing friends, pets and cornfields.  As a youth, he worked on several of the local farms performing various chores such as bailing hay and caring for farm animals.

Dave passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 and was reunited with his father Lewis and mother Judy.  He is survived by his loving wife, Stephanie, her parents (George & Ginny), three children; Tiffany, Jenny and Jason, three step children; Steven, Tori and Yvonne, two brothers; Daniel (wife Jill) and Richard (wife Judy), two first cousins; Matthew and Rhonda, nine grandchildren Jack, Teddy, Andrew, Benjamin, Dominic, Lucas, Cole, Cheyenne and John, many nieces, nephews and many loving friends.

While in high school and beyond, Dave was an excellent athlete excelling in softball and basketball. Dave was the unofficial leader of the group informally called, "the guys" referring to the group of local Williamston, Michigan area friends that were frequent participants in pick-up games.  For several years in the late 1970s and 1980s he organized city league softball teams with this group and was one of the best outfielders in the area with an amazing arm and skilled at organizing teams.  More importantly, Dave was instrumental in forging lifelong friendships among this group; friendships that continue to this day.

Dave, and his family, are extremely proud of his service to the country as a 20-year member of the US Navy. His service started in 1985 in Warminster, PA and he retired in 2005 in Goose Creek, SC and eventually moved to Callahan. As part of his service, he was a member of the crew of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) where he traveled to many global locations including the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.  He also felt blessed to take part in many military funerals, helping to support grieving families who lost servicemen and woman during the Desert Storm War. Dave was honored to be a military veteran and never failed to share the stories of his career with other servicemen and civilians.

Dave was an avid reader with Mitch Albom and Steven King two of his favorite authors.  As a youth, his favorite authors included Laura Ingalls Wilder and westerns novelist Louie L'Amour.  Growing up, his favorite book was "Where the Red Fern Grows."  Dave was also an aspiring author who was published in 2015 with his short story in Writers' Anarchy II titled "Booth: The Last Day".

Dave was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable baseball fan and organized fantasy baseball leagues for many years, recruiting anyone he could to join.  Growing up in Michigan, he was a dedicated fan of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions and University of Michigan football.  Over the past several years, he enjoyed following the PGA attending TPC Sawgrass every year with his daughter Tiffany, NASCAR and the Jacksonville Jaguars since becoming a local. As a Dad and Papa he shared his love of sports with all the kids and grandkids, although he never got any of them to support the Michigan teams with him, he was able to share the love of the game with all of them.

He was also a grateful owner of many dogs over the years including, as a youth, Curly and later in life two different black labs Shakespeare and then most recently Thor. These dogs inspired him to write another short story "Take My Dog Please". He was a frequent contributor to pet food drives and local animal shelters. His late mother Judy enjoyed and always asked for donations to Safe Animal Shelter out of Middleburg and his Daughter recently adopted from Fur-sisters of Jacksonville Beach. Dave and his family donated to both of these regularly in honor of his mom and at Christmas every year he donates an adoption cost to Nassau Humane Society.

Above all, Dave was an amazing and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend.  He had a big, generous heart and if you knew Dave, you were considered family.  He will be missed greatly by his family and friends. In lieu of flowers please make donations in his name to www.safeanimalshelter.com or www.fursisters.org or Nassauhumane.org

Dave's Memorial Services are currently being planned and will be made available to family and friends soon. The arrangements are under the care and direction of Nassau Funeral Home, 541720 US-1, Callahan, Florida 32011. 904-879-1770. Visit www.nassaufh.com to sign the family's guest book.