By Ty Walker
The Mountain Times
The brass plaque mounted on the recently completed Lee Perry memorial bench says it all.
“Lee Perry loved his family, friends, the community and his country. Take time to enjoy the flowers.”
The plaque was installed this past June – springtime – when flowers bloom. It was the finishing touch on the memorial for the longtime Government Camp man who helped make his community beautiful and shared a passion for skiing.
Every spring Perry planted flowers in the area around the Barlow Trail Monument, across from the Mount Hood Cultural Center and Museum. So that’s where his memorial bench sits – a physical representation of the things he loved.
The custom work of art was conceived by the Government Camp community, friends and family. Forged by Bend blacksmith Hunter Dahlberg, it is intended to replicate a ski chairlift as a tribute to Perry’s lifelong love of skiing. The outriggers symbolize Perry’s involvement in helping design and develop adaptive snow sports equipment for amputee skiers.
On the rear of the bench, flowers are incorporated in the artwork to acknowledge his annual planting project. The plaque is surrounded by stars commemorating his service to the U.S. Army. Perry was a proud veteran awarded the Bronze Star in the Korean War.
The Lee Perry memorial bench was a Government Camp community project about four years in the making. It was headed up by Perry’s longtime good friend and neighbor, Lee Englesby. He launched a successful online fundraising campaign that got it all started. Working hand in hand with Perry’s son Victor, other surviving family members and friends, the tribute became a reality.
“It’s a solid piece of art that will be there forever, and every winter it’s buried in snow,” Englesby said. “It comes out in the spring with the flowers.
“It was his love of handicapped skiers, his love of being a ski instructor, his love of being a veteran, his love of the community of Government Camp. So we tried to incorporate all of that about Lee. His family has taken over what he used to do, with the flower planting that continues.”
Lee Perry died Jan. 5, 2021, in Government Camp. It was his friend with whom he coincidentally shared a first name, Lee Englesby, who found his car parked outside in the snow with the door open. Upon further inspection, he saw Perry deceased inside the car. He was 91.
Perry lived a long, active life and skiing was a major part of it. Born June 3, 1930, in Portland, he graduated from Franklin High School and attended Portland State University. He became a certified ski instructor, teaching generations of families on Mount Hood at Timberline Ski School then Powder Hound Ski School, which he owned and operated with his son Victor the last 26 years of his life.
He married Judith Roake in 1968 and they were married for 30 years. Other survivors include his brother Richard, son Victor, two grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
“He was a colorful character of the mountain,” Englesby said. “Everybody loved him. Everybody has a story to tell about him.”
Englesby likes to tell the story about how Perry used to buy a large salmon at the supermarket and put it in his cooler. He’d take it to go fishing by a small creek near where he lived and show it off to friends as a big catch he made on his line.
“He was a jokester,” Englesby said.