My Dad's Obituary

 

Craig Don Perry

1961 ~ 2011

Craig Don Perry, age 50, died October 25, 2011, after a year-long battle with colorectal cancer.

Craig was born March 5, 1961, in Richland, Washington, to Dale Perry and Jeanine Watts Perry.

The Perrys moved to Centerville in 1969 where Craig attended J.A. Taylor Elementary School and Centerville Junior High. After graduating from Viewmont High School in 1979, he attended Brigham Young University and served an LDS Mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

On February 5, 1988 ,he married Marsha Cloward in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity.

He is survived by his wife, Marsha, his three daughters, Corinne Perry Born (Ryan Born), McKaye, Ashlyn, and his son, Dallin. He is also survived by his parents, Dale and Jeanine Perry and his siblings, Mike Perry (Donna), Doug Perry (Diane), Denise Norberg (Robert), Lisa Titensor (David), and Andrea Madsen.

He was a computer programmer for 19 years with the Utah County Government. He then worked from September 1998 to the present as Computer Programmer/Data Group Director for Nutraceutical Corporation in Park City Utah.

His passion was in the outdoors! He loved going to the family cabin and going on snowmobiling and four-wheeling trips with his family. He loved being in the mountains, whether it was hiking, fishing, hunting, camping, or backpacking with his family and friends. In the last five years, he really enjoyed running, especially triathlons and marathons.

His motto for the last year has been "Live, Play, Love, Pray," and he did it all.

He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served in many different positions. One that he loved dearly was teaching the Primary children. He served as a counselor in two Bishoprics and was serving there at the time of his passing.

His funeral will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Stake Center at 450 E 2000 N, Orem, Utah. A viewing will be held there from 9:00-10:30 a.m. There will also be a viewing Tuesday evening at 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary at 495 South State Street in Orem.

The Craig D. Perry Memorial Fund at Mountain America Credit Union has been established for those wishing to contribute. You may make a deposit to this account at any MACU branch.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.SundbergOlpinMortuary.com

Updates

Hey everyone! This is Corinne.  My mom has been really busy and hasn't been able to put up a blog.  We have a neighbor who has been writing and sending email updates to family and friends and my mom asked that I post the most resent update that she sent.  So here it is...

Dear Perry Family and Friends,

Yesterday Craig received 2 liters of IV fluids that were badly needed.  It has been more difficult for Craig to eat and drink enough, and he has lost 8 lbs. since last Saturday, October 15.  He will receive fluids daily while receiving radiation to help him stay hydrated.  In an effort to get more calories into him, they will be starting Craig on protein drinks and smoother foods that will require less chewing.  He is very weak right now.

Marsha and Craig met with Dr. Weis, the oncologist from whom they got their second opinion last year.  They met with him yesterday for 1 hour and 15 minutes and were able to receive a lot of information and get many questions answered.  Craig's radiation treatments are scheduled to be completed next Wednesday, October 26, and they have already set up an appointment in one month from that day to do a brain scan.  They cannot do a brain scan before then, because the brain needs that time to settle down from the radiation.

If the radiation treatments have been working, they will then proceed with chemotherapy for the rest of the body.  If the radiation is not working, there will be no reason to put his body through more chemotherapy that will just make him sick.  The brain trumps all else and must allow the body to get better.

Craig's mobility has been significantly impacted by the tumors and pressure in his brain, but he still has limited ability to get around. Craig is fighting and not giving up.  He is trying his best to do everything he can on his own.  Marsha hopes to make arrangements for Craig to come home after the radiation treatments are finished and he will no longer need to be so close to the hospital.
 
For those who would like to receive e-mail updates on Craig's status, please reply to         obeblb@hotmail.com.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support.  My family really appreciates it.  And Thank you Eva Black for helping with the email updates. :)

Update: The Most Recent Developments with Craig and his Family

We’ve had a setback over the last several days. Craig had recently started having a hard time focusing on things with his eyes (visually) along with tasks that required any amount of concentration.  Wednesday of this week he got worse and Marsha decided that he needed to go into the hospital and get checked out.  The appointment was for 1:30 in the afternoon, as the day progressed the ability to focus became increasingly more difficult and disorientation started to set in. 

At the hospital they did a brain and the Doctor scheduled a meeting for Thursday morning at 9:45 to go over the results of the scans.  The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful.  Around 3:10 AM Craig grabbed and squeezed Marsha’s hand very tightly, he was having a seizure and was unresponsive.  Craig sounded as if he was choking and needed to be turned onto his side to prevent choking. 911 was activated and the Police and Paramedics arrived to assess the situation. During this time the severity of the seizure had started to decrease however, Craig was still unable to talk, he tried to mutter words but they were incoherent. The ambulance transported both Craig and Marsha to Timpanogos Hospital at roughly 4:00 AM.

This morning another brain scan was preformed and the results were not what anyone had expected or wanted. There are three large tumors and several small tumors in Craig’s brain. Two of the large ones are in the rear, one of which is suspected of causing the seizure; the third large one is located in the front on the right side.  As of now we’re waiting for Craig to get a bed at the Huntsman Center were he’ll receive additional treatments.