[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 67 (Thursday, May 6, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF MRS. JOYCE E. PERRY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2010

  Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart but great honor 
that I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Mrs. Joyce E. Perry. 
Joyce Perry was a woman who put her faith to work by mentoring young 
people in her community as a coach and as a teacher. A gifted athlete, 
devoted educator, and loving wife and mother, Joyce greatly advanced 
the sport of women's basketball in the state of Delaware.
  A native of Milford, Delaware, Joyce was an outstanding student 
athlete at the University of Delaware. Joyce was a trailblazer--co-
captaining UD's first women's basketball teams and lettering on their 
first tennis and field hockey teams. She played a major role in the 
growth of the university's Athletic Program and is revered as one of 
its most successful coaches.
  Mrs. Perry began her college coaching career as head women's 
basketball coach at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware, but soon 
returned to her alma mater by becoming UD's second women's basketball 
head coach in 1978. Joyce led the Lady Blue Hens for 18 seasons, the 
longest women's basketball tenure in the school's history. Her 266 
career victories remain a UD career record for basketball--in both the 
men's and women's programs.
  During Joyce's tenure, the Lady Blue Hens had a record of 266-212, 
including six-straight winning seasons from 1987 to 1993, three 20-win 
campaigns, six East Coast Conference (ECC) regular season titles, and 
three straight ECC Tournament titles. She coached nine all-conference 
selections, three conference players of the year, and one conference 
rookie of the year. Her players earned numerous academic awards, and 
Mrs. Perry was twice named ECC Coach of the Year, once in 1984 (22-4) 
and again in 1989 (23-6). In 2004, Joyce was inducted into the 
University of Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame.
  I am honored today to recognize Mrs. Joyce E. Perry--a woman of great 
compassion and of fierce completive spirit. She will be greatly missed; 
as a wife to husband Gregg, a former standout football player and 
current football coach at the University of Delaware, as a mother to 
sons Rhett and Trey, and as a Delaware athlete, coach, and mentor. 
Joyce's influence and contributions have reached far and wide, both 
within and beyond our state; her mark is indelible.

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