Michael was born on November 27, 1951, to Willis Earl Perry and Velma Louise Perry. He attended high school at Riverview High in Riverview, Michigan. He was an exceptional student and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Eastern Michigan University in (1973?). He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves in the late 70s through the early 80s. Gifted with a knack for computers and technology, he worked most of his life for Texas Instruments and after a company merger, Hewlett Packard. In his later years, he was a CPA for Jackson Hewitt until he retired in (2017)? Michael and his wife, Penny attended Grace Lutheran Church in Knoxville, TN.

Michael was a loving husband and father to two children and later on, six grandchildren. When he wasn't working, he enjoyed tinkering with his Ham Radio and reading books about Mathematics, but flying was his biggest love. He was a recreational pilot and he flew all over the country. He loved taking his children on plane rides with him, often flying into big cities to visit their large museums and planetariums together. He was a practical joker who was always trying to make people laugh, and he was a master of Dad Jokes and bad puns. You never knew when he would jump out at you with a can of silly string or a loaded Super-Soaker. His grandchildren were his life. You could always find him at family events, laying on the floor with them climbing all over him, or sitting at his computer, teaching them to play Solitaire. And when he wasn't playing with grandkids, he was napping with a book of Linear Equations in his hands. In 2017, he began a battle with Lewy Body Dementia. His fight ended peacefully after 7 years, with his loving wife and his oldest grandson at his side.

He is dearly missed by his surviving family: His wife of 48 years, Penny Perry, his daughter and Son-In-Law, Michelle and Nicholas Iles, his Sister and Brother-In-Law, Jennifer and Larry Hart, his Neice, Elizabeth Hart, Brother and Brother-In-Law Mark Perry and John Lindner, and his six grandchildren: Calum Wilson, Wren Gray, Gavin Iles, Gabrielle Iles, Naomi Perry and Logan Perry.

He is preceded in death by his father, Willis Earl Perry, his mother, Velma Louise Perry, and his son, Michael Anthony Perry.

(Obituary text authored by and provided by Michelle Perry Iles)

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On a personal note: Mike was a man who befriended me when I was new to this city, new to a job, and newly out of college. He was goofy at times, but he was incredibly smart and knew his way around radio, electronics, computers, and airplanes.

Over the years, he inspired me to better myself through out my career. He encouraged me to get my pilot's license, and he and I flew together many times. He helped motivate me to earn my amateur radio license.

He was a good friend, and he will be missed.