Katherine Margaret (Gavin) Perry died on Nov. 23, 2021 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton. She was 85.
The daughter of the late Katherine Jerome and Patrick Gavin, Kay was born on Nov. 10, 1936 in Boston, where she spent her early years. On St. Patrick’s Day in 1941, her parents announced they would move from Boston to Kay’s mother’s hometown, Provincetown. Four-year-old Kay assumed that the parade marching down their street was a goodbye celebration for her. She never lost her innocent sense of humor.
At the new Governor Bradford School, she met the love of her life, Bobby Perry. Kay was eight and Bobby was nine. One day, she told Bobby that she was going to marry him. He was not interested at first, but as the years progressed her prediction proved to be true.
They had two sons, Robert K. Perry Jr, and Bryan Lee Perry, and then a daughter, Kathryn Mari Suzanne Perry. Throughout both good and bad times, Kay loved and supported her family. Her sense of humor never wavered.
In 1984 Kay took a job at Cape End Manor that changed her life in the best ways possible. At first, she did laundry. Eventually she became a certified nursing assistant, and her passion for helping others bloomed. Her work at the Manor was more than just a job. She listened to her patients’ worries and stories. She was the shoulder they could cry on when needed. She supported them at the end of their lives.
Kay also volunteered at the Provincetown Council on Aging, helping with day trips or cooking a batch or two or three of sweets for their bake sales.
Wherever she went, she always wore a smile — highlighted by red lipstick. The shade of red would change from day to day, said her daughter, but red it would always be.
Kathy remembers her mother as always kind and loving. “Everyone adopted her as their mother, or she adopted them,” Kathy said. “She was an amazing mother. She taught me a lot.”
Kay’s husband, Robert, and son Bryan predeceased her. She is survived by her son, Robert K. Perry Jr. of North Truro, her granddaughter Robbie Perry of North Truro, and her daughter Kathryn S. Perry of Provincetown. She valued family and friends far and wide.
A funeral service and burial are being planned for the spring.
Condolences may be left at gatelyfuneralservice.com.
