Carl Dean Perry, born June 26, 1932, passed away on October 23, 2021 at his home in Montecito. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Carl was the youngest son of William and Helen Perry. Carl was a graduate of Santa Barbara High school in 1950 and attended UC Berkeley and was a graduate of UCLA in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and international relations. He also attended graduate courses at the Free University of Berlin and the UCLA School of Business Management. And in year 2008, when Carl was 76 years old, he attended graduate courses at UCSB.
Carl served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1959 and was part of the occupation forces in Germany following World War II. During his military service he was assigned as the Aide to the American Commanding General of Berlin. He had the opportunity to witness key decisions and attend meetings on strategy and operations that affected the rebuilding and freedom of West Berlin from the Soviet and East German military and political threats.
He joined the Howard Hughes Corporation in 1959 and pioneered helicopter technology for 23 years. As Executive Vice President of the Hughes Helicopter Company he managed their world-wide operations, including strategic planning, product development, marketing and international operations. The most important part of his career was the development of the Apache Attack Helicopter.
In his second career, Perry was recruited by the government of Canada to become the Executive Vice President of Canada’s leading aerospace company, Canadair, now known as Bombardier.
From 1997 to 2004, Perry pioneered products in the alternative energy field for electric vehicles as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enova Systems.
Carl has served on the Advisory Board of the Association of the United States Army, Washington DC, the Army Aviation Association of America, Forum Chairman of the American Helicopter Society, a board member of the Turner Foundation and the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA).
Carl deeply loved the Lord and El Montecito Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed donating his time and energy and working with the members and staff of the Church as the Elder of Finance and Property.
In 2003, Carl married Patricia Thompson in a beautiful ceremony at the Inverlochy Castle in Scotland. They originally met at Santa Barbara High School and reconnected at their 50th High School Reunion. They enjoyed traveling, attending CAMA concerts, and being with friends and family.
He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and will be deeply missed and remembered by family and friends alike. He is survived by his beloved wife of 18 years, Patricia Thompson Perry, his three daughters, Leslie Perry Bowen (Tom), Allyson Perry, Courtney Perry Coccaro, and his two grandchildren (Amanda and Jonathan) and five great-grandchildren (Harper, Carson, Brynlee, Cami and Mia) and his stepdaughters Karen Hartman (Chris) and Susan Anderson (Rod) and four grandchildren (Christopher, Matthew, Michael, Katherine).
A memorial service for Carl will take place at the El Montecito Presbyterian Church on November 18th at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to El Montecito Presbyterian Church.
