A new scholarship fund at North Georgia College & State University is available to assist students from Atkinson and Fayette counties, birthplaces of the fund’s donors, Lucille and Bill Perry. 

Lucille Perry, a native of Willacoochee, Ga., was the daughter of Hattie and Jesse Nugent. Bill Perry, a native of Fayetteville, Ga., was the son of Ruth and Lee Perry. Lucille and Bill Perry both attended North Georgia College from 1943 to 1945, a time when North Georgia was only a two-year college. The couple was married just prior to their graduation in 1945.

“Our life at North Georgia College was such an important and happy part of our lives,” Bill Perry said. “We agreed prior to Lucille’s death that we wanted to leave something permanent, lasting and worthwhile that would honor North Georgia College and benefit students after we were gone.”

Lucille Perry, a victim of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, a rare genetic disease of the peripheral nervous system, died in 1999. Bill Perry resides in Atlanta. An accountant, he worked for Georgia Tech for 17 years and then at the Board of Regents, as assistant treasurer, for 19 years. 

He created the William Noyes Perry and Lucille Nugent Perry Scholarship Fund through the North Georgia College & State University Foundation in 2007 to assist students from Atkinson and Fayette counties who may not be receiving support from Georgia’s Hope Scholarship program. 

The scholarship funds are available to be awarded beginning this fall, and interested students should contact the university’s financial aid office for details.

login to post comments