[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING LEONARD CHARLES PERRY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JUAN VARGAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 1, 2024

  Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Leonard ``Len'' 
Charles Perry, who passed away on April 14, 2024 in San Diego.
  Len always worked to leave our world better than he found it and he 
left an indelible mark.
  Len was born on June 11, 1924, in Oberlin, Ohio, to his father, 
Attorney Clyde C. Perry, and mother, Ruth Mae Perry. Len's family moved 
to Cleveland when he was five. He attended Glenville High School where 
he was an outstanding student athlete, becoming the City of Cleveland's 
champion high hurdler in 1943.
  Len served our nation with dedication and honor as a radio operator 
with the Combat Engineers during World War II.
  After World War II, Len attended law school and passed the Ohio Bar 
in 1951. He continued his service and began his legal career as a 
Contract Specialist with the Department of the U.S. Army in the 
Ordnance Corps, where he quickly became the chief of the Research and 
Development Branch.
  Len also played an integral role in one of our Nation's great 
achievements and leaps in scientific discovery. Len was the NASA Lewis 
Research Center's Contracting Officer during the 1960s, managing over 
forty administrators. Under his direction, they worked to develop 
Centaur, the upper-stage booster for the Surveyor, which was the first 
spacecraft to make a true soft landing on the moon. Len's work was 
critical to this mission and one of the most important successes of 
NASA's early lunar and interplanetary program.
  In 1970, after NASA's successful completion of Moon exploration and 
twenty years of government service, Len was hired by SD General 
Dynamics. His family relocated to San Diego and Len became the Manager 
of Material Contracts.
  Len later bought Aerospace Design and Fabrication, an engineering 
company that primarily performed design and services for NASA and 
served as the Chief Executive Officer.
  Len also gave back to his community and was a member of many 
organizations in both California and Ohio. He was a member of the San 
Diego Community College Board of Trustees, the Honorary Deputy 
Sheriff's Association, the Scholarship Award Board for the San Diego 
Air and Space Museum, and the Grand Slammers Bridge Group.
  Len lived a full life and accomplished so much. But at the heart of 
everything was his family and his faith. A beloved husband, father, 
uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Len was above all else 
devoted to his loved ones and his late wife, Elinor.
  My prayers are with all who knew Len during this time of loss.
  His legacy will always be remembered.

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