Marvin J. Perry, 78, owner of a wholesale furniture showroom that worked primarily with federal agencies and interior designers,
died of prostate cancer Sept. 21 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. He had homes in Chevy Chase, Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Key Largo, Fla.
Mr. Perry, who was born in Burlington, Iowa, served in the U.S. Army in Germany in the late 1940s. He came to Washington in 1949 and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1953. Soon thereafter, he joined his brother in business as a furniture manufacturer’s representative.
In 1955, he founded Marvin J. Perry & Associates in Kensington as a wholesale furniture business working with the interior design trade, the hotel industry and federal agencies. He supplied furnishings to U.S. embassies and other federal agencies overseas. In the 1960s, he had an exclusive contract to provide furnishings for the homes of State Department employees and other federal workers around the world. In providing furnishings, he visited more than 175 foreign posts of the U.S. diplomatic service.
Mr. Perry received many awards throughout his career, and in 2003, Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries Inc. named him “Salesman of the Century.”
He was a devoted supporter of the University of Maryland and in 2012 received the alumni association’s Tyser Gottwals Award for his service to the university. He was president of the Fastbreakers and Terrapin Club sports booster groups and was honored by the Phi Delta Theta fraternity for his years of service and support. He also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.
Mr. Perry lived in Bethesda and Potomac before moving to Chevy Chase. In recent years, his primary residence was in Florida.
He was a member of Congressional Country Club, Rehoboth Beach Country Club and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac.
Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Carol Ann Perry of Chevy Chase, Key Largo and Rehoboth Beach; three daughters, Susan Greene of Frederick, Jill Brodrick of Germantown and Jodi Yeager of Bethesda; a sister; a brother; and 11 grandchildren.
