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Perry Staton Oliver, Jr., age 88 of Atlanta, died Sunday, November 10. He was the son of the late Perry Staton Oliver, Sr. and Glenda Jordan Oliver of Gainesville. His wife, Anne Hatfield Oliver, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister Sue Bostick of Nashville, son James Staton Oliver and daughter-in-law Michelle Kyu-wook Oliver of Parker, Colorado, son Lawrence Jordan Oliver of Boulder, Colorado, grandson Daniel Hyunou Oliver of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and his loving and caring partner Diane Letheren of Atlanta. Perry was born on March 25, 1931 in Gainesville, and was raised on his family farm in Flowery Branch not far from his paternal grandparents William Newton and Viola Hudgins Oliver's home place and farm in Chestnut Mountain. Perry spent his youth attending grade school and high school in Gainesville and working on his family farm raising chickens, hogs, and cows and told stories of his pet terriers Rippy and Tippy and German Shepherd Mack and his horse Crystal and his father's prize bull Dothan. He would spend his summers working at his maternal grandparents Josiah Glenn and Anna Rebecca Jordan's general store in Dublin, Georgia. He took flying lessons at the Gainesville airport during his later years in high school and attended his freshman year of college at Oxford of Emory University. He accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1950 and graduated in 1953. He attended Navy flight school from 1953 to 1954 and received his Naval carrier landing certification on August 11, 1954. He flew PBY "flying boats" and P2V "submarine chasers" during his active and reserve duty. He flew anti-submarine missions tracking Soviet subs in the Caribbean and Atlantic during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He was honorably discharged from the Naval Reserves in the early 70s having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Perry worked briefly for Standard Oil in the early 60s and then Johnson Controls as a control systems sales engineer. Later in 1978 he started his own company, Oliver & Company, specializing in industrial air conditioning controls for the textile industry. He disbanded Oliver & Company in 2004 and moved from Atlanta to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he and Anne enjoyed their retirement until 2010. Both Perry and Anne were very fond of the Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico area and settled in a small adobe villa high on a mountainside overlooking the Los Alamos valley and the Jemez Mountains. Perry moved back to Atlanta due to Anne's poor health in 2010 and Anne passed away in 2012. Perry spent his final years living in Vinings, Georgia at his One Vinings Mountain condo with a top floor view of Northeast Georgia. Perry was very active and enjoyed running at the Chattahoochee River Park and hiking in the southern Appalachians and New Mexico and Switzerland. Perry leaves behind numerous friends who will remember him for his high energy, positive attitude, sense of humor, and generosity. Perry's celebration of life will be held at the Lake Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge Magnolia Room, 7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy, Buford, on Saturday, February 1, from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Published in gainesvilletimes.com on Jan. 26, 2020