My Hero: Violet Perry

By: Taylor Owens

My hero is Violet Perry she is 64 years old and was born on May 21,1948. She currently lives in Pittsboro, NC. She has a fabulous family, a loving husband, Eric, a wonderful son, Joshua, a sweet daughter in-law, Becca, and two amazing grandchildren, Sammy and Mason. She is currently President of a design and building company. When she was little she loved school! Her favorite subjects were English and Science. Amazingly, she learned how to read when she was only four! Another reason she loved school was because of how she got to be away from home when her parents had loud fights. She told me that pretty much the only good memory of her childhood was when she went to her Aunt Betty’s and hiked on the big bluffs with her cousin, Iris, and tried to push the goats off. When Violet was little she didn’t have a best friend because she never stayed in one place for much longer than three months. Now she has two best friends who include my grandmother, Gail, and Laura who currently lives in Florida.

During her childhood, Violet lived on farms in Hallsvile, Missouri that her dad share cropped on and they were very, very poor! Church was the center of their social life. She always looked forward to Sundays because she would get to play tag with her cousins and go to big picnics. Her parents divorced when when she was seven years old and she and her three siblings, her brother, Alva, and her half sisters, Cathy and Linda, went to live in their grandmother’s cold dark attic. Cathy, Violet’s older sister was very mean to her. Once, Violet went outside to go to the farm’s out-house style bathroom and her sister,Cathy, scared her as she came out. She was terrified of the outhouse for a long time after that. When Violet was eleven years old, her parents had a custody fight over her and her brother. Sadly, for Violet, her dad got custody of her and her brother.  Her step-mother did not like her new step children so she treated them badly. When Violet was fifteen, she ran away from home and lived on the street. She spent the night in old smelly cars for awhile, but she was eventually declared a ward of the court. After that, she spent her childhood in many different foster homes.

My hero shows so much perseverance. Violet Perry is one of my family’s best friends and she is like another grandmother to me. I have known her all my life and she is so kind to everyone, even though she went through some really hard times in her life. For example, when she was younger her father wasn’t very nice too her and when she was seven her parents divorced. She also has had cancer and a very recently has had a heart attack. I admire Violet because she continues to be a good person even though circumstances around her aren’t always positive.

My hero is also very caring even though she didn’t experience many caring people in her childhood. For example, she is a sponsor to a child from Africa who needs extra help and support. She cares very much about other people and she gives them confidence in themselves. She also never puts herself first. When I was younger and scared at night, she came in my room and sang me a lullaby to get me to sleep. I remember another time when I fell into a freezing pond and Auntie Vi was there to rescue me! She put me by a really warm fire and made me feel better.

Violet is my hero because she has a lot of faith. For example, to get over her troubling past, she has drawn on her faith in God. The spiritual part of her has kept her focused on the good in the world. She always says, “Honesty above everything,” and “Be happy that you are you and no matter what, love yourself.” That is good advice and helps me when I get frustrated.

My hero has had an impact on my life showing me that you should enjoy life while you can. She has also taught me to show the people you love how much you care about them. I am so lucky to know Violet Perry and I am thankful that she is a part of my life.