Some important events in Elder L. Tom Perry’s life:
Aug. 5, 1922 — Born in Logan, Utah, to Leslie Thomas and Nora Sonne Perry
1942-1944 — Served full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern States Mission
1944 — Served with the Marines in the Pacific. Was group leader while serving with the 2nd Marine Division in the South Pacific and Japan
July 1946 — Honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps
July 18, 1947 — Married Virginia Lee in the Logan Temple
1949 — Graduated from Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) with degree in finance
June 7, 1953 — Sustained as second counselor in the Lewiston (Idaho) Ward bishopric
Dec. 6, 1959 — Sustained as a high councilor in the American River (California) Stake
March 12, 1961 — Sustained as second counselor in the American River (California) Stake presidency
April 19, 1964 — Sustained as an alternate high councilor in the New York Stake (Sustained as a high councilor Feb. 7, 1965)
Aug. 14, 1966 — Sustained as first counselor in the Weston (Massachusetts) Ward bishopric
Jan. 25, 1970 — Sustained as Boston Stake president
Oct. 6, 1972 — Called as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
September 1973 — Appointed general chairman of the church’s Bicentennial Committee
April 6, 1974 — Sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve
April 11, 1974 — Ordained an apostle
Dec. 14, 1974 — Wife Virginia Lee dies
Jan. 20, 1975 — Named to the American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Council.
May 1975 — Named to the ZCMI board
April 28, 1976 — Married Barbara Dayton in the Salt Lake Temple
January 1980 — Named to the American Stores board
March 7, 1981 — Received distinguished alumnus award from Utah State University
Aug. 12, 1993 — Received honorary doctorate of Christian service from Brigham Young University
May 1995 — Named chairman of the ZCMI board (Stepped down in May 1996)
May 26, 2000 — Renovated special collections wing of BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library is named L. Tom Perry Special Collections
May 8, 2004 — Threw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game
September 2006 — Received distinguished executive alumnus award from the College of Business at Utah State University
September 2009 — Becomes the second apostle to visit the country of Latvia in Eastern Europe
February 2013 — Son Lee Perry publishes a biography about his father's life titled "L. Tom Perry, An Uncommon Life: Years of Preparation, 1922-1976"
Nov. 6, 2014 — Among several dignitaries honored by Catholic Community Services of Utah as distinguished humanitarians
Nov. 18, 2014 — Joined President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency and Bishop Gérald Caussé of the Presiding Bishopric in attending a historic, three-day interfaith gathering in Vatican City with world religious leaders to discuss the centrality of marriage and families in society
March 12, 2015 — Stood with legislative leaders in the Capitol rotunda as Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a historic anti-discrimination and religious rights bill
April 2, 2015 — Joined members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a 20-minute meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Sheraton Hotel during Obama's first official presidential visit to Utah
April 5, 2015 — Spoke at the 185th Annual General Conference about the need to defend marriage and traditional families all over the world