Howard A. Perez's Obituary
Howard A. “Tony” Perez died peacefully in Covington, LA on June 16, 2008.
A native of Memphis TN, he was born to the late Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Perez of Key West, FL on November 1, 1934, he has been a resident of St. Tammany Parish for the last 41 years.
He is survived by his twin sister Cecil Bick of Key West, FL and her six children; and his two daughters Stephanie Reeder of Carmel, IN and Stacey Stewart of Fairhope, AL. He was grandfather to Tony, Austin and Brooke Reeder of Carmel, IN and Gabriel and Jacob Stewart of Fairhope, AL. He is also survived by his longtime companion Ms. Paula Lester and her son Dwayne Lester of Belle Chasse, La and his former wife Barbara W. Hallam of Vero Beach, FL.
A United States Army Veteran, Mr. Perez was an accomplished artist who studied at LSU in the mid 1950's before going to the Chicago Art Institute to study fine arts. Tony began his professional art career working at the FAA as a graphic artist. In 1961 he joined Chrysler's missile division in Huntsville, AL also doing graphic art work. His big thrill came in late 1961 when he was sent to Cape Canaveral to work with the astronauts and Wernher von Braun. While at Cape Canaveral he painted portraits of all 7 original astronauts for NASA. Of his many accomplishments he was chosen to paint the American Flag on John Glenn's space capsule for the Mercury project which stands in the Smithsonian Institute. He also illustrated the book The Evolution of Space which is available for viewing at the Library of Congress. He was later transferred to work on the Saturn space program at Michoud in New Orleans, LA. In the late seventies he was commissioned for the restoration of the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. Over the next 2 1/2 years he transformed the theater's magnificent interior from a movie theater to Broadway Theater. Tony was honored by the Smithsonian Institute in 1985 with a traveling solo show of his artistic Illustrations which depicted artist concepts of the Redstone rockets, the Apollo and lunar landing missions. In 1999 he was commissioned by the St. Tammany Maritime Commission to design the St. Tammany Wooden Boat Festival poster. In the last years of his life he spent his time creating various commissioned portraits, paintings and wood carvings. He has left behind a lifetime legacy of beautiful artistic creations that will be cherished and enjoyed by all who knew him. Tony was a compassionate man that put his heart into every project that he undertook. He will be missed by many and remembered for his smile, kindness, generosity and willingness to listen to every person that he met.
Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend a Memorial Mass on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 11:00 AM from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, 213 Lafitte St., Mandeville, LA 70448.
Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM.
Following the services a gathering for friends and family will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs Charles Hemenway, 12535 Ed Core Road, Folsom, LA 70437.
What’s your fondest memory of Howard?
What’s a lesson you learned from Howard?
Share a story where Howard's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Howard you’ll never forget.
How did Howard make you smile?