1936 – 2022
Obituary
Perry’s Story
It’s with great sadness that we announce that Perry Billings Attaway Pearson passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning, October 11th, 2022. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1936, Perry graduated from Gastonia High School in Gastonia, NC in 1955 and attended East Carolina University, where he lettered in football. After graduating at ECU with both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in History, Perry began what would prove to be an illustrious high school coaching and teaching career. Starting in Rockingham, NC, he also worked in Franklinville, VA, Mooresville, NC, and Canton NC, before making Kernersville, NC his home.
Best known as Coach Pearson or simply “Coach”, Perry’s career spanned thirty-two years with the majority of the years spent as the Head Football coach at East Forsyth High School. With an overall coaching record of 235 wins, 96 losses, and 10 ties, the East Forsyth Eagles accounted for 115 of the wins. In 1973, Perry was the head coach of the North for the North-South All Stars Game. In 1975, he was named the Associated Press North Carolina Coach of the Year. In 1990, he was named Head Coach for North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl which was won 10-7. After retiring in 1991 as the 4th winningest coach in North Carolina, Perry was inducted into the Winston-Salem Sportsman Club Hall of Fame. In 1998 East Forsyth High School bestowed the great honor of co-naming the football field, “Clark-Pearson Field” to him. As a final tribute, Perry was inducted into the East Forsyth High School Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2012.
While his athletic accomplishments are impressive by anyone’s standards, he will perhaps be most remembered for the impact he made off of the field. Perry lived a life devoted to God, his family, and his community. Perry’s generosity, love of life, caring, and compassion touched the lives of everyone he encountered. Always a teacher, he taught Sunday school, was a Gideon, and a mentoring chaperone for The Grand Western Tour for 20 years. A loving husband, father, grandfather, and faithful friend to all, Perry will live in our hearts forever.
Preceded in death by his father James Milner Attaway, mother Mayme Billings Attaway Pearson, step-father W. Glenn Pearson, and brother Wayne Milner Attaway. Perry is survived by his wife, Rachel and their children Mark Pearson (Pam) and Tracy Wall (Terry); grandson, Ethan Pearson and granddaughters, Morgan Ransom (Tyler); Jennifer Wall and much loved great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to First Baptist Church in Kernersville, NC; Gideon’s International – PO Box 1180, Kernersville, NC 27285, or your choice of charity.
