Marguerite Austin Perry has spent a lifetime in service to East Carolina, working under eight university presidents and spending almost five decades as a professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature. 

The youngest of four children, Marguerite was born on September 8, 1918, and grew up in South Carolina. She completed her bachelor's degree at Winthrop College in three years, attending the University of Mexico for her last required courses in Spanish. A few years later she completed an MA in foreign languages with a concentration in French at Duke University. She traveled to France regularly and was a Fulbright Scholar there during the summer of 1955. 

While a professor, Maggie, as her friends called her, played a critical role in establishing many firsts for East Carolina University. As chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature in the 1970's, she helped establish the International House for Students. She was the first director of campus radio, producing more than 500 taped programs broadcast by stations all over eastern North Carolina and in Raleigh. She was a member of and served many years as co-chair of the Entertainment Committee that established the tradition of bringing renowned performers to campus. This entertainment series eventually evolved into the S. Rudolf Alexander Performing Arts Series. 

After retiring, Maggie was one of the founding members of the Retired Faculty Association begun in 1987. She watched the organization grow from nothing to more than 250 strong during the fifteen years she served as treasurer. This group was important to her because it provided funds for scholarships, increased professional and social ties among members, and served as a great people resource for the university. Maggie created a second charitable gift annuity for East Carolina in hopes of establishing a center in France open to East Carolina students of any discipline who wished to study and live in the heart of another culture. 

Besides the Retired Faculty Association, she has also worked tirelessly with the Friends of Joyner Library. In appreciation for her dedication to the library, she was awarded a Lifetime Membership Award in September 2000. She felt that the library was the beacon of the university. 

A part of Maggie's enjoyment in life came from hobbies that included bridge, music and Snoopy. "I am a Snoopy fool; I just am," she said. To her, Snoopy was a life-long friend, a winsome philosopher, and a professor of good old common sense, even with his tilts at imaginary adversaries as a canine Don Quixote. With Snoopy memorabilia everywhere, her home is a tribute to the dog and his creator, Charles Shultz. 

In fact, one of the only things she found more gratifying than her bond with Snoopy was her relationship with the university. Through the years, she couldn't help being intoxicated by the happenings at East Carolina. She said, "When you give to the university, the reward is pleasure – pleasure in seeing and being a part of its development. You can't resist it. It is an opportunity you don't want to miss." 

Marguerite Austin Perry possessed a wonderful wry wit, a genuinely inquisitive mind, and an appreciation for life that was manifested in all that she did. 

** On June 16, 1951 she married George Eliakim Perry of Reedsburg, Wisconsin—he died in 1989 in Wisconsin ***

Maggie passed away peacefully on August 24, 2015 at the age of 96. She is survived by one niece and one nephew – Martha Owens Kent of Sylvania, Georgia and Charles O. Pratt, III of Dumfries, Virginia.

Contributed by F. Bundy (47078032)