Executive director of the National Rowing Foundation W. Hart Perry '55 died on Feb. 3 following a 10-day hospitalization in New London, Conn., U.S. Rowing Chief Executive Officer Glenn Merry said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Perry who rowed for the College and served as a rowing coach and official during his career was 78.
Perry was traveling on business in London the week before his death. He reported not feeling well upon arrival back in the United States and checked himself into a New London hospital, where he passed away, according to Merry.
In a professional and personal capacity, Perry acted as "everyone's godfather," Merry said.
"[Perry] operated on so many different levels that it is hard to pin down all he has contributed," Merry said. "As director, he helped raise two and a half million dollars to support Olympians, senior and junior rowers. Aside from fundraising, he was giving and generous with his time, effort, connections and support so that rowers could achieve their dreams."
Perry's passion for rowing reflected in his work, according to Merry. The construction of the Rowing Hall of Fame at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Conn., was largely a result of Perry's decade-long negotiation of the opening of a dedicated rowing section in a museum the only in the United States, Merry said. The exhibition finally opened in 2008.
Perry was honored with a number of awards during his career, including the U.S. Rowing Medal of Honor, the 2010 World Rowing Distinguished Service to Rowing Award and induction into the National Rowing Hall of Fame.
Perry was inducted into the Dartmouth Rowing Hall of Fame and was a member of the Wearers of the Green, a College organization that honors outstanding athletic accomplishments. He also served as chairman emeritus of the Friends of Dartmouth Rowing organization.
As a coach, Perry maintained a professional demeanor and helped rowers improve their techniques, according to his daughter, Lissa Gumprecht.
"The summer before my freshman year at the Kent School [in Kent, Conn.], my dad took me out on the water to teach me how to row," Gumprecht said. "It was a wonderful experience to spend this time together. When I returned to school that fall, my dad was my rowing coach. I had a problem where I would sky my oar a lot, which is improper rowing form, and my dad kept harping on me to fix it. When I asked him to get off my case he told me, I am not your father on the water, I am your coach.'"
When coaching, Perry most enjoyed the ability to teach people a new skill, Gumprecht said.
"He always reinforced the importance of being on a team, respecting your fellow oarsmen, respecting the sport, the equipment and every aspect of rowing," she said. "He assured that everyone was treated equally because, in rowing, everyone must row properly."
Todd Perry, Hart Perry's son, said his father was known for his very likeable personality.
"My Dad was one of the kindest people I ever knew period in my life," Todd Perry said. "He was always a gentleman and always putting others first. He did what he did out of pure love for the sport and what it did for young oars-people. He kept a low profile in all he did."
Todd Perry added that his father inspired the best for those he coached.
"My father could conjure up the belief in perhaps not the best group of athletes that they could beat anyone," he said. "His rowers would push through the metaphorical brick wall and sprint through a burning building for him."
Although Todd Perry was the only Perry child who did not row at some point, he said he fondly remembers spending time with his father on the water while Perry coached at the Kent School.
Perry also opened American rowing to a wider international audience and served as the first non-British steward at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, England in 1974, according to Gumprecht.
Perry began rowing in 1947 at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass. Gumprecht said Perry's start with rowing was happenchance.
"My dad tried out for the baseball team when he first got to high school," Gumprecht said. "But the baseball coach suggested that he look into rowing instead."
Perry continued to row for the College, where he served the team in different capacities.
"At Dartmouth, he started off rowing with the lightweights," Gumprecht said. "After his first year, he could not make weight and he was too small to row heavyweight, so he became one of the lightweights' coaches."
After leaving Dartmouth, Perry began a career as a professional coach.
He worked for the College, the United States Coast Guard Academy, the Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaii and Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, among others.
