Mary Catherine Perry

Mary Catherine Perry, known to all who loved her as Catherine, passed away unexpectedly on April 20, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas, at the age of 72. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, and friend whose extraordinary love shaped generations of children, families, and educators.

Catherine was born on December 17, 1953, in Dublin, Ireland, to James and Mary Boland. She grew up alongside her four brothers, Liam, Donal, Padraic, and Brian, in a loving family that remained at the center of her heart throughout her life.

It was in Ireland that Catherine met Phillip Turner Perry, a young Texan who had come with his brothers to attend Catholic seminary. Their love changed the course of both of their lives. Phillip left seminary, and together they moved to Texas, where they were married in October 1975, beginning a union that would endure for more than fifty years. She never lost her love for Ireland or her ties to her Irish family, but Texas became home, and her family became her life's greatest joy.

Catherine was a deeply devoted wife and the anchor of her marriage to Phillip, his partner and companion, and a faithful caregiver to him through the years.

Her four children were her world: Phillip Eamon Perry, Karen Anne Atkins, Deirdre Elizabeth Cervantes, and Stephen Aubrey Perry. She loved her children's spouses, Christina, Billy, Matt, and Stephanie, as her own, and each of them saw her fully as their mother. To be welcomed into Catherine's family was to be welcomed into her heart without reservation.

To her ten grandchildren she was "Granny." Sarah, Aaron, Grant, Cameron, Ciara, Collin, Catelyn, Mason, Rachel, and Phillip were the brightest joy of her later years, and watching her with them was, for her family, the most memorable part of their lives together. The pride she felt in them was immense. Her legacy of love, joy, patience, and steadfastness in adversity continues on through them, a light that will guide them through their own journeys.

"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." (Mark 9:37)

Catherine's professional life was an expression of her deepest calling: the love and care of children. She opened her own childcare center, Kids Country, in Crowley, Texas, and later taught at Apple Tree Childcare Center in Fort Worth. In 1992, she joined what was then All Saints Childcare Center, which would transition over the years to Baylor All Saints Childcare and ultimately to a Bright Horizons center. For more than 33 years she served that community, first as a teacher, then as assistant director, and finally as director, until the day she passed.

What she built there cannot be measured in words alone. She was a mentor and a teacher of teachers, and to many of the women who came of age under her guidance, some of whom began working for her as young women and stayed for decades, she was a second mother. To the countless children and families who came through her doors, she was the steady presence and fierce love every child deserves, and a guiding hand to so many parents on their own journey of raising children. An entire community of children grew up loved by her, and as adults they returned to her with their own children, wanting for them the same loving environment they had known. Apart from her family, this work was the great source of purpose and joy in her life, and she was profoundly proud of it.

Catherine placed love and caring at the forefront of every encounter. She was, in the truest sense of the word, a mother to all who had the privilege of knowing her. The full reach of her kindness, the quiet conversations, the timely words, the motherly corrections, the lives she steadied without ever speaking of it, will likely never be fully known to those who loved her. She simply loved people, and God worked through her in ways both visible and hidden.

Her Catholic faith was the bedrock of her life, and the Holy Spirit was felt working through her in all that she did. She found a beloved community of faith and friendship at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Fort Worth. She was deeply committed to the well-being of children, to early childhood education, and to supporting parents in the sacred work of raising a family.

Catherine is survived by her husband of 50 years, Phillip Turner Perry; her four children and their spouses, Phillip Eamon Perry (Christina), Karen Anne Atkins (Billy), Deirdre Elizabeth Cervantes (Matt), and Stephen Aubrey Perry (Stephanie); her ten grandchildren, Sarah, Aaron, Grant, Cameron, Ciara, Collin, Catelyn, Mason, Rachel, and Phillip; her four brothers, Liam, Donal, Padraic, and Brian Boland; her siblings-in-law Lawrence, Mark, Rosanna, Annette, and Regina; along with many cherished nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Mary Boland; and her brother-in-law, Aubrey Dee Perry, Jr.

Visitation: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. with a Rosary beginning at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Thompson's Harveson & Cole Chapel, 4350 River Oaks Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76114.

Mass of Christian Burial: 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 1, 2026, at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 3312 Dryden Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76109.

Reception: 1:00 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2026, in the Drawing Room at Thompson's Harveson & Cole, 4350 River Oaks Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76114.

Interment: 12:00 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Elmwood Cemetery, 5750 Hwy 277 S., Abilene, TX 79606.