Perry Joan Holley Wright, 1950- 2006

LAVA HOT SPRINGS, Idaho. - Perry Joan Holley Wright was born on her maternal grandmother's 75th birthday, June 1, 1950, in Ogden, Utah, to Norma Baker Noblitt Holley and John Perry Holley. She was welcomed into the family by a brother, Ronald Holley, and a sister, Natalie Noblitt. In 1963, the family moved to Fullerton, Calif., where she attended Sunny Hills High School and graduated from San Diego State University. 

She married Thomas Wright in June of 1970. A daughter, Amber Marie, was born to them in 1971. Perry returned to San Diego State to work on a teaching certificate. Several years later, after an amicable divorce, Perry and her daughter moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where she managed and taught at a nursery and day care facility. 

In 1971, she married Tom Mayes and in 1977, they had a son, Nathan. They moved to California, where she worked in home decorating during the building boom in California. After divorcing Tom Mayes, Perry and her two children moved to Ventura, Calif., where she managed a home decorating company. 

She moved to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, in 1993, to be near her widowed mother. There she managed a local restaurant and met her life partner, Gaylon Newbold. 

Because of her natural friendliness and warmth, children always gravitated toward her. Her zest for life and her insatiable desire to please everyone made her irresistible and loved by all. She had a seemingly endless supply of energy and ideas when it came to helping someone or promoting a cause 

She loved the Bunnyland Easter celebration that she organized in Lava Hot Springs, and it seems to get bigger and more grand every year. She organized and helped with numerous benefits for individuals and causes. The beautiful baskets Perry made to be raffled and auctioned became legendary and sought after. 

Perry's son, Nathan was her pride and joy; her daughter, Amber, her crowning gem; her friend Joan, her staunchest ally; Gaylon, her own true love; and her granddaughters, Avery and Sophia were what she lived for. 

She died Dec. 8, 2006, after a courageous battle with cancer. Besides her life partner, Gaylon Newbold, her daughter, son and granddaughters, she is survived by her mother in Pocatello; her sister and nephews in Chicago, Ill.; her sister-in-law and nieces in Ventura, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Utah; and her four sisters from her father's first marriage. 

Services will be today, Tuesday, Dec. 12 a 3 p.m., at White Wolf West Restaurant, Highway 30, Lava Hot Springs.

Idaho State Journal. 

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