Versie Mae (Gasper) Perry

Versie Mae Perry was born November 30, 1930, in Hughes, Arkansas to Eliza and William Henry Gasper.  She attended public school in (Hughes, Ark.) St. Francis County where she also met and married Freddie Lee Perry in 1944.  Versie accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior early in her life and enjoyed both the Baptist and Pentecostal or Sanctified Church worship and preaching.  She learned to put her faith in the Almighty which helped her navigate an often painful and pleasant childhood.  She devoted herself to studying the Holy Bible and did her best to instill the same devotion in her children.

Versie moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1956 with her husband Freddie (Fred) and their two small children Sarah and Joe.  Upon arrival in Benton Harbor, she settled on Townline Road (Sodus Township) with the extended Perry family who was part of the Second Migration of African Americans from the rural south to the Midwest. Shortly after relocating Versie united with the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. M. H. Raspberry (Rev. Milton P. McAfee) where she attended until she united with the Mount of The Good Shepherd Church in 1995 under the leadership of Pastor Tommye Vaden.  In 2014 Versie chose to unite with the Greater Faith Apostolic Church under the oversight of Suffragan Bishop Joe L. Cunnigham. In her twilight years, Versie unapologetically celebrated her Faith in God, Baptism in Jesus' Name, and in the filling of the Holy Ghost. 
Versie’s greatest and lifetime work was as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.  Although she enjoyed working in numerous occupations her last work was in Home Health Care for the State of Michigan.

Versie left all her infirmities behind and entered eternal rest on Friday, October 29, 2021. She was preceded in death by her mother, Eliza, and father William Henry Gasper; her loving husband, Freddie Lee Perry; sisters Laura Holmes and Lucile Williams; brother William 
Gasper, daughter Laura Etta Perry and grandson Lemart Perry. 

She leaves to cherish her memories, daughters Sarah L. Harvey (MI), Brenda C. Jeffries (MI), Versie (Lawrence) Brooks (MI); sons, Joe (Wanderval) Perry (TX), William H. Perry (TX), Russell (Kerri) Perry (MI) and Clifford E. Perry (MI); beloved nephew Joe (Joan) Holmes (IL); and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and church families. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Versie Mae (Gasper) Perry, please visit our floral store.