Perry Anthony Thompson Had Strong Vineyard Ties

Perry Anthony Thompson died of cardiac arrest on Oct. 6 in his parents' home at 12 Meadow View Road in Oak Bluffs. He was 38 years old.

Perry was the son of Dr. Donald L. Thompson, a radiological physicist on the faculty of New York state's Downstate Medical Center who later served a similar role for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. His mother, Marie Osborn Thompson, became a vision teacher and consultant for the Montgomery County public schools in Maryland. Perry resided with his parents all of his life.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was precocious to the age of three, when he regressed to an infantile state. He recovered partially, and continued to be burdened with multiple disabilities for the rest of his life. In spite of them, he managed to earn a high school diploma and later hold a job at Pizza Hut for 10 years before his illness forced him to leave.

His parents first brought him to the Island in 1992 for a vacation, and in 1994 they bought a house in Edgartown. Although their principal home remained Maryland, from then until April 2004, they visited the Vineyard home on a bimonthly basis and spent all vacations there. When his father retired that April, the family moved to their current address.

Perry's trips to the Vineyard were not his only link to the Island, being the great-great-great-grandson of Edgar Marchant, founder of the Vineyard Gazette, and Capt. Abraham Osborn Sr. of whaling fame. He was also a descendent of Richard Warren of the Mayflower and related to Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. His immediate survivors are his parents. He said the Vineyard was his favorite home.

Perry's wake service was at his family home and the funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Saint Elizabeth's Church. The gifts to the altar were presented by Gail Derick. Dr. Paul Lock and Jennifer Beauvais gave the readings.

Perry was interred in the family plot at the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown with his maternal grandmother, Cecilia Osborn. His later maternal grandfather, Everett Osborn, will be reinterred there, and Perry's parents will eventually complete the family plot. The funeral was followed by a luncheon at the Farm Neck Golf Club.

Funeral arrangements were made by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs. Donations may be made to the Renal Unit Development, care of Dr. David Steele at GRB 1003, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit street, Boston, MA 02114.