Martha Hudson Perry, 78, died June 24, 2017, in Pensacola Beach, Florida, after a brief illness.
Born in Gadsden, Alabama on Aug. 1, 1939, Martha loved music, singing, and performing. Over the years she performed with groups such as UNA’s Schola Cantorum and the Shoals Chamber Singers. She also appeared in several theatrical productions for the Zodiac Theatre, the Ritz Theatre, and Gingerbread Players.
In 1971, she took first place in a competition held by the Muscle Shoals Music Celebration and received a recording contract. She recorded one single, “Mockingbird,” produced by Terry Skinner, on her own Perry Label. The A-side received attention from the music industry, but ironically it was the B-side that got the most play. Many years later, following the 1977 death of Elvis Presley, the B-side song “Tribute to Elvis” received extensive airplay in the southeast.
Along with her husband, she co-managed Dean Perry Photography, and its spin-off businesses, Tiny Tot Portraits and Broadway Frame and Gallery.
She is survived by her children, Brooke (Anna) Perry, of Russellville, and Clark (Jill Blotevogel) Perry, of Los Angeles, and daughter, Deborah Lambert Friedman, of Pensacola Beach.
She is also survived by a sister, Margaret Newton, of Muscle Shoals; grandchildren, Dee Lambert, of Pensacola, Ian and Olivia Perry, of Florence, Nicholas Miller, of Florence; Keaton Grace Perry, of Los Angeles, and Aria Marie Perry, of Russellville; and her great-grandchildren, Logan Thomas Moore, of Pensacola, and Todd Michael Miller, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She was preceded in death by her husband of more than 60 years, Herald Dean Perry, last March; a daughter, Allyson Joanna Perry; her father, Arvil O. Hudson; her mother, Aline Kemp Sparks; and a stepfather, Marvin Sparks.
Burial will be Saturday, July 1, at 2 p.m. at Crestwood Funeral Home in Gadsden. Reverend Laura Hutchinson of First Christian Church of Anniston will officiate. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1 p.m. until time of service.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the International Fox G1 Foundation, 6505 Hillock Lane, Pearland, TX 77584, or the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 75817, Topeka, KS 66675-8517.
