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<p><em>Steven Perryman</em> was born in Texas in 1942 to Virginia (Ott) and Butler Perryman. The family relocated to Southern California when he was four. Steve grew up in Santa Ana, attending public school. He was an outstanding student and was elected student body president in his senior year of high school. He earned a varsity letter on the football team. Although Steve was among the smallest players on the team at 145 pounds, he brought intelligence, determination, agility and grit to his position at right guard. Steve had the support of a loving family, including Santa Ana’s first AFS exchange student, Odd Haugen, who became like a brother. They remained close the rest of his life. Steve learned important lessons early, including a concern for justice and the disadvantaged and the importance of discipline and loyalty. Upon hearing two West Point cadets speak at a high school assembly, Steve decided that this was where he belonged. He was supported in this decision by his father, a Navy man.</p>
<p>As a non-Army wife, I’ve relied on (and am grateful to) his contemporaries for the highlights of his time at West Point and in the military.</p>
<p>Steve was an early leader. He loved and sought out being in charge. He played 150 lbs. football for all four years, earning a Navy Star in the last two years. He also played rugby all four years and was proudly part of the first Rugby Team at West Point, serving as vice-president as a firstie. He also participated in the Ski Club and the Russian Club. </p>
<p>In the summer of 1963, Steve went to Nigeria with Crossroads Africa, helping to build a school with other college students. The poverty and the determination of the people there greatly impacted him, and he spoke often of that experience.</p>
<p>In June 1964 he graduated 47th out of 564 in his class. That summer he qualified as airborne and then as a Ranger. Upon graduation he was commissioned into the combat Engineers and assigned to the 24th Engineer Battalion, 4th Armored Division in Germany from 1964 to 1967. His children, Scott and Cindy, were born in Nuremberg. From there he deployed to Vietnam to serve with the Army Engineer Command from 1967 to 1968, where he was awarded a Bronze Star.</p>
<p>His last duty station was with the 6th Army as a logistics officer at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA. He retired in 1969 with the rank of captain, then drove across the Bay Bridge to enter law school at UC Berkeley, working as a white-water raft guide between semesters. He spent six years practicing law before leaving to join his father’s manufacturing business. He served as CEO of Gannon Manufacturing until they sold the company in 1994.</p>
<p>Steve liked nothing better than to learn something about you. He was a good listener and a great storyteller. As such he was well suited to serve, until 2000, as a group leader, mentor, and life coach at TEC (The Executive Committee, now Vistage) for groups of CEOs and small-business owners. During that time he was asked to serve on the board of Premier Commercial Bank. He remained a bank board member for the next 12 years. </p>
<p>In 2010 the West Point Society of Orange County awarded him its Duty, Honor, Country Award.</p>
<p>Steve had a passion for sleek and sporty cars. There was never a time without a low-slung vehicle in the garage, as well as a go-kart at the local Tucson, AZ track. He loved to race and tinker and could be found at the track most weekends.</p>
<p>He was a committed volunteer in his last decades. While in California he tutored children at Title I schools in the after-school program Think Together. Following our move to Tucson in 2009, Steve volunteered as a math tutor for middle schoolers. He was named “Volunteer of the Year” on more than one occasion, which I only discovered by going through his keepsakes. At the same time, he volunteered with Vet Court, helping veterans in the court system obtain second chances instead of incarceration. Classmate Richard Carr called him “the epitome of a servant leader and a wonderful friend.”</p>
<p>Dirck Schou said what came to mind about Steven were two quotes from The Man of La Mancha: “a Knight of cheerful countenance” and “wit and humor do not reside in slow minds.” Steve loved to laugh, especially about himself, and he enjoyed engaging in witty conversations. There were so many family stories of him laughing with his children or teasing his grandchildren. Family was important to him. He loved and was proud of Scott and Cindy and their chosen partners, and he adored his grandkids. He loved his sister, Lynn. He was well loved in return.</p>
<p>He had a complicated relationship with West Point during his lifetime, but on the occasion of his 50th class reunion he wrote to his oldest friend: “While I was never cut out to be a soldier, I feel strong bonds to my classmates. I’ve always thought of the ‘Long Gray Line’ as just a tagline. This time it felt like a powerful 200-year-old river. Can’t explain this stuff—but I definitely felt it. For years I thought I should have quit and gone back to a real college. I’m finally glad—deeply glad—that I stuck it out.”</p>
<p>Stop by and remember him if you’re near West Point. He remembered all of you… .</p>
<p>Love, laughter, and deep friendship filled the 34 years we shared, and I’m thankful for every single day together.</p>
<p><em>— Angie Perryman</em></p>
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