Edward (Ted) Rossiter Perry died on Sept. 10 at his home in Stow under the care of hospice and with his children. He was 87.

He was born August 6, 1924, to John Prince Hazen Perry and Augustine (Lloyd) Perry, in New Canaan, Conn., and lived there until 1947. Mr. Perry graduated from the New Canaan Country School in 1938, the Kent School in Kent, Conn., and furthered his education at Williams College in Williamstown, where he was a member of the Delta Psi Fraternity. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in December 1942 and served in Italy, Southern France, Germany and Austria, leaving the service in May 1947 as a sergeant major. He was one of the last surviving members of the Mule (Pack) Artillery. His stories of landing many, many mules at Anzio Beach have become classic and told through many different lectures to schools, institutions and other groups. He was among the first American soldiers to reach and liberate the Dachau Concentration Camp, one month before the end of the war.

Mr. Perry joined the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company in the summer of 1947 and retired in 1983 from the American Telephone and Telegraph Company as general supervisor. He was a member of many clubs and associations, among them the Portland Country Club, the Portland Yacht Club, the Cape Elizabeth Racquet Club, the Edgartown Yacht Club, the Eastern Yacht Club, the Dedham Country and Polo Club, the New Canaan Country Club, and the Marsh Harbor Racing Association.

He was intensely involved with local government and served as finance committee chairman, personnel department chairman, board of selectmen member and chairman in both Medfield and Westwood. He served on several boards, including the American Cancer Society, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, chairman of the United Way for Eastern Massachusetts, the Dedham Country and Polo Club, the Rivers School in Weston, and the Saint Anthony Club of New York. Locally he was very involved in Concerned Citizens of Stow, (CCS).

He was an avid sportsman and particularly enjoyed golf and long sailing cruises with his late wife, Mary, on their 40-foot yawl, Camassia. He will be greatly missed by his daughter, Mary Drake, and his three sons, Ross Perry, Gifford Perry, Matthew Perry, and his 13 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He is survived by his brother, Samuel Lloyd Perry, of Tampa, Fla.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. in the First Parish Church of Stow. A reception will follow.

Gifts in his name may be made to the Stow Council on Aging, COA, Stow Town Building, 380 Great Road, Stow, MA 01775.

Arrangements are under the care of Concord Funeral Home. To share a memory or offer a condolence visit concordfuneral.com.