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

View Comments

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

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.