Perry Lee Conley Sr., a retired Baltimore County principal who worked to turn around troubled schools, died of suspected cardiac arrest March 18 at Oak Crest Senior Living Community in Parkville. The former Lutherville resident was 90.
Born in Baltimore and raised on Marshall Street in Federal Hill, he was the son of James Perry Conley, a Hajoca plumbing supply worker and his wife, Virginia Williams Conley, a homemaker. He was a 1953 graduate of Southern High School, where he played football and baseball.
Mr. Conley earned a bachelor’s degree at Towson University, where he also played sports, and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park.
In 1957 he married Katharine “Kitty” Borchers. They met in a Towson University geography class during their freshman year.
Mr. Conley began his career teaching at Rodgers Forge Elementary before becoming vice principal at Gray Manor Elementary in Dundalk. He spent more than 20 years as a principal in various Dundalk area elementary schools, including Chesapeake Terrace, Grange, Bear Creek, Colgate, and Battle Grove.
Among his students was former Baltimore County Executive and now Congressman Johnny Olszewski Jr.
“My father was a public-school troubleshooter, drawn to struggling schools in tough neighborhoods,” said his son, Perry “Willy” Conley Jr. “He thrived on turning them around, often requesting transfers years later once things stabilized. His dedication extended beyond the school day. He would have to leave home at odd hours to respond to school break-ins and emergencies.”
His son recalled a weekend Boy Scouts camping trip he attended with his father at the Straus Lill-Aaron Wilderness Area in Hancock in the 1970s.
“A blizzard stranded us, forcing everyone to miss school that Monday,” his son said. “Determined to deliver his usual morning announcements, my father worked with another volunteer, a ham radio operator named Galloway, to relay his message live through a ham radio colleague in Baltimore who then phoned the school. The ingenuity of the moment even made it into a news account in the old News American.”
As a child, he learned to fish and crab with his father at Bodkin Creek. He later bought a property at Chance in Somerset County on the Eastern Shore where he fished, crabbed, boated and entertained family and friends. He also visited flea markets and restored antiques.
Survivors include wife of 68 years, Katharine “Kitty” Borchers, also a retired Baltimore County schools educator; his son, Perry “Willy” Conley Jr., of Hanover; a daughter, Rebecca “Becky” Conley-Hartman, of Clarksville; and four grandchildren.
Funeral services are private.
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