Dorothy Perry

Funeral services for Dorothy Ethyl Sekora Perry, 90, will be held on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Dr., Bossier City, Louisiana. A visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until the time of service. A burial will follow at Rose-Neath Cemetery in Bossier City, Louisiana. Officiating the service will be Pastor Brad Franklin of Benton Methodist Church, where Dorothy last attended church.

At 8:05 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2024, our beloved grandmother, mother, and mother-in-law passed away. Deborah, her daughter, and Tom, her son-in-law were at her bedside as she moved on from this life. The last hours of her life were a very peaceful transition from her earthly body to the afterlife with God, where she wanted to see her husband, Marvin, her grandfather, Pop, her mother, Dorothy, and David, her grandchild.

Dorothy Ethyl Sekora Perry was born on February 4, 1934 in Long Island, New York. Her mother Dorothy Bennett, died shortly after Dorothy’s birth so she never got to know her mother. Dotsy, her childhood name, was raised in Queens, New York with Rebecca Holtzhauser Sekora and John Benjamin Sekora, her grandmother and grandfather. She grew up in the Lutheran Church. On her father's return, from World War II, she moved to Lyndhurst, New York. Shortly after that, her siblings Kristin, John, Grant, Stephen, Stephanie, and Stuart were born.

She graduated from Lyndy High School where she studied art. She then moved to Magnolia, Arkansas to live with her aunt and attend college at Southern Arkansas University. It was there where she met her future husband, Marvin Perry, Jr. Upon marrying, they were blessed with three children, Marvin III, Deborah, and Douglas. She was a lifelong resident of Shreveport, Louisiana where her children were born and raised. Her husband had a lifelong career in radio and television, where he served as a program director for KTBS Channel 3 in Shreveport.

Dorothy was an accomplished artist and known by others for her artistic abilities. She attended many art workshops and painted in just about every medium including watercolors, and oil. She even painted a picture of a Yellowstone Park waterfall using a palate knife to create the painting. Just a mere four years ago at the age of 86, she created a watercolor painting by request for her grandson, Ryan, for a photo album I presented to him on his first Father’s Day. It’s hard to describe just how talented she was at her craft. Her other love was reading, where she seemed to get through a novel in just a few days.

She will always be known for her kind and loving spirit. She loved Christmas time and always went “all out” on her children’s and grandchildren’s Christmas. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

After about three years before her passing on, her vision and hearing began to fail her to where she could no longer read or paint. Because of her diminishing senses, she began to be shut out of the world she once knew. The last four years of her life were spent with Deborah and Tom in her mother-in-law's suite where she was loved and cherished until passing.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy Bennett; grandmother, Rebecca Sekora; grandfather, John B. Sekora; father, John B. Sekora, Jr.; sibling, Stuart Sekora; husband, Marvin Perry and grandson, David Perry. She is survived by siblings, Kristin Sekora, John Sekora, Grant Sekora, Stephen Sekora, and Stephanie Seka-Edmons; children, Marvin Perry, III and wife, Cheryl, Deborah Waterfallen and husband, Dr. Tom Waterfallen and Douglas Perry; grandchildren, Ryan Waterfallen and wife, Tonia, Eric Waterfallen and fiancé, Alicia Contreras, Brandy Pruitt and husband, Tim, Alyssa Neely and husband, David; great-grandchildren, Tallulah Waterfallen, Isla and Caroline Pruitt, Isabelle, and Christian Neely.

We must mention Rosalyn McDowell, who was Dorothy’s sitter for the last eight months of her life. She provided the care she needed when we could not be there for her. Rosalyn gave not only the physical care she needed but also the love, friendship, and community that Dorothy needed. She treated her like she was her family, and we now consider Rosalyn part of our family. Thank you for all you have done.

Special thanks to Christus Shumpert Hospice staff, especially Brenda, NA, and the nursing staff.

Honoring Dorothy as pallbearers will be Ryan Waterfallen, Eric Waterfallen, Marvin Perry, III, Douglas Perry, and Quinn Giles.

May all that were touched by her life aspire to be as kind and loving as her.