W.H. “Jack” and Dorothy Perryman spent their lives devoted to education and giving back. At the time of Dorothy’s passing at the age of 102 in 2019, she had designated close to $800,000 to the Catholic Foundation in endowed gifts for Our Lady of Peace in Alpine and seminarian education.
Jack and Dorothy were not wealthy people but they lived simply, put money away for retirement, and made plans to support their favorite causes: the Catholic Church, the local Baptist Church, and Sul Ross State University.
Dorothy established an endowed fund for Our Lady of Peace in the 1970’s to ensure the financial future of the parish to which she had been so faithful. The endowed fund of $113,000 was transferred to the Catholic Foundation in 2008 and renamed the Dorothy O. Perryman Fund for Our Lady of Peace Parish.
“I had good Catholic parents who saw that I received all my sacraments,” Mrs. Perryman recalled. “I love my church. Because we had no children, we decided to help the Catholic Church, the local Baptist Church and Sul Ross State University by setting up an endowment fund for each.”
In 2021, the Catholic Foundation received the incredible news that Dorothy left an estate gift of $600,000 to establish the Dorothy O. Perryman Fund for Seminarian Education.
Jack and Dorothy moved to Alpine in 1944 to open a wholesale/retail gas business. It was not long before both were recruited into teaching. Dorothy would go on to work for the Alpine Independent School District as a teacher for 31 years. Jack was a Sul Ross Associate Professor of Physical Education from 1947 to 1976.
The only daughter of six children, Dorothy graduated from Texas State College for Women (now Texas Women’s University) with a degree in Homemaking. She taught high school Home Economics, English, History and P.E. for three decades. She also coached girl’s basketball, winning a district championship in only her third year of coaching.
Jack graduated from Texas Christian University and played on the undefeated 1938 football team that finished first in the nation. He coached the undefeated 1948 Tangerine Bowl Team (former Bonanza cast member Dan Blocker was a teammate), led his 1949 football team to the Aztec Bowl in Mexico City, instituted the Sul Ross Driver Education Program, and founded the athletic academic scholarship program in 1982.
After retiring from teaching, the Perrymans enjoyed traveling across the United States and Canada with their iconic Airstream travel trailer in tow. Dorothy delighted in cooking, sewing, and quilting, and she spent many hours playing bridge with her dear friends at the Sunshine House.
Jack and Dorothy did not share a faith, but they did have a steadfast commitment to each other, to their chosen vocations, and to being good stewards of the gifts God had entrusted to them. They left behind not only dear family and friends, but legacies that will last forever.
The Catholic Foundation hopes everyone in the community will participate in the spirit of charitable giving. There is no minimum requirement to contribute to an existing endowed fund. You can create a Named Fund with a gift of $10,000 or more. Gifts of any size are welcome, and are essential to the Catholic Foundation’s mission. Work with the Catholic Foundation today to leave your legacy.