When Perry was a child, his family would spend the summers at Johnson's Flat, a valley just north of Fish Lake. There they would engage in dairy farming, making cheese and butter to sell. They lived in a log cabin with a sod roof. In 1885, Perry and his cousin, Elmer were drying their feet in the oven of the stove when the roof of the house caved in burying the two children. When Perry was dug out, he was unconscious and was thought to be dead, but he soon revived and fully recovered. Elmer was badly injured and died during the next night. Elmer's mother, Perry's aunt Jane was also injured and died several months later from her injuries.
As a child, Perry was very active in the Mormon Church, rising through the ranks of the lay priesthood. He had jobs herding cows and sheep.
In 1895 he was tending sheep on the meadow during damp weather. He contracted inflammatory rheumatism and was sick with it all winter. He was unable to attend school. There were no doctors in the area so the problem went essentially untreated. The Mormons believe that their priesthood has the power to heal the sick. Perry blessed by members of the Mormon priesthood many times in an attempt to heal his condition, and he believed that it eventually worked and that he was healed by faith.
Perry was educated through the eighth grade and then left school to go to work. He worked at various jobs. When he was 21, he got a job with the Howe Dairy in Murray, Utah where he worked for two years receiving $25 per month. He always sent some of his money home to his parents.
In about 1903, he and a friend went to Idaho to hunt for work. He finally found work at $30 a month in Grant, Idaho. He worked there for two years. While in Grant, Perry was ordained a Mormon Elder. Also in Grant, Perry met his future wife, Hansenna Hansen. They were married in 1905 at the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. The couple went to Burrville to visit Perry's folks. They stayed a few months while Perry sold all of his meager property and bought a team of horses and a wagon.
They loaded the wagon with what belongings they had and traveled back to Grant, Idaho, a distance of 650 miles, which they covered in 17 days. When they arrived in Grant, Hansenna's father helped them make a down payment on a 120-acre farm in Garfield, three miles west of Grant. After five years trying to work this farm with not enough water, they sold the land and bought a smaller place. During this time, Perry remained active in the Mormon Church and held several positions in the local congregation.
In 1913, Perry homesteaded 160 acres of dry farm. He built a home and worked hard trying to make the farm work. He produced only two crops in five years and finally in 1918, he had to give up the farm and move back to Grant. There he worked for his brothers-in-law, Otto and Nephi Hansen and lived in the home of his mother-in-law for two or three years.
In 1921, he rented the Charles Fife farm. They lived in a large six-room house and did fairly well on the farm. Several of the children were old enough to help with the work. In 1923, he moved to Lewisville, Idaho and rented a 80-acre farm and did well there.
In 1925, Perry bought his mother's five-acre fruit farm on Provo Bench in Utah. Most of the family went by train, but Perry loaded their belongings on a wagon and drove for ten days to Provo arriving on 11 Nov 1925. He paid his mother $900, furnished a house for her to live in and paid her $250 each year as long as she lived. In addition to Perry's own children, he had taken two daughters of his wife's sister to raise when their mother died.
In 1926 he rented a small farm but only broke even. In 1927 he rented another place in Vineyard and raised mostly hay. In 1928, he rented a second fruit farm in Orem. He made some profit on that deal. The five acres of his own was not enough to keep him busy or bring in enough income, so he was always looking for ways to make more money.
In 1927, he bought a Chevrolet touring car and brought his mother-in-law from Idaho to see if the doctors in Provo and Salt Lake City could help her eyes. She was going blind. They weren't able to help her much, and she lived with Perry for the rest of her life. Also in 1927, Perry was ordained a High Priest in the Mormon Church.
In 1929, Perry's son, Gerald, was called by the Mormon Church to be a missionary in Denmark. Perry went with his brother, William to get a job in Susanville, California to support Gerald on his mission. He first worked at Lassen Saw Mills and then at the County Hospital where he worked as an orderly for $100 a month. He stayed with that job until the end of 1939 using the money to support his son, Gerald, and then DeEsta on their missions. Early in 1940, he returned to live in Provo, Utah.
In Provo, Perry again made a living by renting farms until in 1942 he worked for a short time on W.P.A. and later started working for the City and County. He held that job until he retired in 1958 after a gall bladder operation in Nov 1957 and a hernia operation in Dec 1957.
Perry enjoyed watching parades and baseball games. He was active in the Mormon Church, holding the office of High Priest.
On 3 Jan 1964, Perry was diagnosed as having ulcers. The doctor gave him medicine and put him on a special diet. He got weaker each day and did not care to eat. On 4 Mar 1964, he was taken to the hospital. He died 22 Mar 1964.
Ref: "A History of the Burr Pioneers" - by W. R. & R. J. Burr - p. 461-466