Phillip Neale Perry

Phillip Neale Perry, beloved father, grandfather, veteran, and advocate, passed away peacefully on July 10, 2025. He was born in Villa Grove, Illinois, on November 3, 1929, to Franklin O. Perry and Lelia E. Froman. He lost both of his natural parents while still a child and was raised by his step-parents.

Phil served his country honorably as a sergeant in Korea from 1951 to 1953. Upon returning, he married the love of his life, Billye Jane Deaton, in 1954. Their enduring partnership, built on faith, family, and community, spanned 64 years, until her passing in 2018. Phil and Billye loved the natural world and took their children camping throughout the sixties and seventies, visiting as many national parks as they could reach in their family station wagon.

After receiving a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois, Phil spent most of his career in facilities planning at Caterpillar Tractor Company. While completing his work there, which included building design and urban planning for the Caterpillar office building in Peoria, Illinois, he also took on additional projects. He designed and largely built the house his children grew up in. He also designed the expansion/renovation of the family's home church, Morton Christian Church, as well as the associated parsonage.

After an early retirement from Caterpillar, he moved Florida to embark on a second career in hospital architecture, first at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, then at Winter Haven Hospital. During his tenure there, he took particular delight in designing a maternity wing with little touches like a wheelchair ramp that played the Brahm's lullaby when patients passed over it in a wheelchair.

A true child of the Depression, Phil hated waste. He would "rescue" garage sale or even trashed belongings, take them home, and repair or renovate them, only to give them away -- a cleaned and repainted toy for a child, or a refinished side table given to a young family for their starter home.

Phil believed deeply in service. His early life experiences made him fiscally prudent to the point of frugality, a characteristic that benefitted the various non-profits to which he gave his time. He championed the rights of children with special needs as a school board member and offered steady guidance as a church elder and board member. At the same time, he was adamantly protective of those he saw as vulnerable, and he was generous to the point of selflessness in looking after those people and institutions that needed his help.

He is preceded in death by his siblings Loren Perry, Doris Decker, Wayne Perry, and Lois Helm; his wife Billye; and his daughter Janet (Jan) Little. Phil leaves behind his children Carolyn Perry, Laura (William) Lee, and Andrew Perry; five cherished grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren who will carry forward his legacy of compassion and integrity.

A visitation will be held on July 21, 2025, from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. at Smith Funeral Home, 1402 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville, Tennessee. Funeral services will follow from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m., with interment immediately afterward at Grandview Cemetery, 2304 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Special Olympics (https://www.specialolympics.org/) or Sertoma (https://www.sertoma.com/)), an organization that supports individuals like Phil’s son Andy, who is part of the Sertoma of Knoxville community - a place of purpose, empowerment, and promise. Condolences may be shared through Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, Maryville, 865-983-1000, www.SmithFuneralandCremation.com