Mr. Thomas Doane Perry III

With grieving hearts, we announce the death of our dearly loved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, Thomas Doane Perry III, at the age of 82. He died peacefully on April 7, 2025, at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA, from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Doane was born on June 24, 1942, in Boston, MA, to Thomas Doane Perry Jr. and Helen Warrington Roberts Perry. His father was the manager of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for several decades. Doane grew up in Hingham, MA, attended Hingham High School, and graduated from Exeter Academy. Following his graduation from Yale University, he taught in Greece, studied in Berlin, and joined the Peace Corps in Uganda. He later earned a PhD in Anthropology from Union Graduate School. He remained active in the Peace Corps, serving for many years as the president of the Boston Area Returned Peace Corps and as vice president of the National Peace Corps Association. Doane worked as an educator throughout his life in various places, including Thessaloniki in Greece, Kapchorwa and Kampala in Uganda, the United Nations International School in Manhattan, and at Meadowbrook Junior High School, Newton North High School and Lasell College in Massachusetts. He left teaching to become a consultant in the telecommunications industry, working for International Data Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation. He has a son, Thomas Doane Perry IV, from his first marriage to Barbara Aliferis Perry, with three grandchildren Charlotte, Jack, and Thomas Doane Perry V, as well as two stepchildren, Betsy Rodman and the late Flicka Rodman, and two step-grandchildren Glen K. Rodman and Phoenix Dalto. In 1985 Doane married the artist Karen Carmean in the Dominican Republic. Their son, Curtis Jamison Perry, lives in CT with his wife, Rachel Jamison Perry, and their daughter, Julia. For many years Doane and Karen owned and operated a Bed & Breakfast in Cambridge, MA, and Richmond, MA. He was an active participant in both communities, heading the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association and serving as secretary of the Cambridge Action Fund, which raised funds for the unhoused in Cambridge and Somerville. He served as head of the Berkshire Lodging Association and on the West Stockbridge Select Board, was a founding member and secretary of the Guild of Berkshire Artists and volunteered at Tanglewood. He was a longtime member of the Friends Meeting at Cambridge. A Renaissance man with many talents and interests, Doane traveled extensively throughout the world, learning several languages. An accomplished photographer, he exhibited his award-winning photos in Cambridge and the Berkshires. He also wrote articles for many local papers and once described himself as a “lifelong amateur astrophysicist.” He enjoyed sailing at the Boat Club in Stockbridge and participating in the Masters Swim Program in Cambridge and at Simon’s Rock in the Berkshires. He also loved mowing the expansive fields at his home in West Stockbridge with a tractor and a zero-turn radius mower. He was known for his kindness, his curiosity, his appreciation for the arts and music, his gentle and generous spirit, and his quirky sense of humor. Doane is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren, as well as his former wife and stepdaughter and his brother, Rodney Britton Perry, and sister-in-law, Joyce Perry, and their children and grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents and sister, Judith Perry. Celebrations of his life in the Quaker tradition will be held at Kimball Farms in Lenox on May 18th from 1pm to 3pm and at the Friends Meeting at Cambridge on September 20th from 2pm to 4pm. Donations in his memory to care for the hungry and unhoused may be made to the Berkshire United Way in care of the Roche Funeral Home, 120 Main Street, Lenox, MA 01240, to your local United Way, or your favorite charity.

Mr. Thomas Doane Perry III

June 24, 1942 - April 7, 2025