Donations in memory of Johnie Perryman

Join us in celebrating the incredible, storied life of Johnie Frank Perryman, who passed away on March 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh, PA, at the age of 81.

He was born in Seattle in May of 1943, one of six children in a struggling, working-class family. Mr. Perryman overcame abject poverty and the cruelty of Jim Crow to graduate his local high school with honors, attend the University of Washington, join the US Coast Guard, and more. In the prime of his life, he would go on to work for such prestigious companies as Boeing and the Crowley Maritime Corporation. A natural leader, John Perryman became a beloved labor organizer in King County, Washington, respected for his thorough, detailed knowledge of contract language and admired for his ability to get deals done in record time. John was an absolute titan, a man whose face showed up in newspapers and magazines, and who, behind the scenes, influenced the rise of Democratic politicians like Patti Murray and Gary Locke. He traveled the world, from Ghana to Alaska, Saudi Arabia to Moscow, at one point leading a foreign trade delegation that traveled across the Iron Curtain into Soviet Russia at the height of the Cold War.

At the end of the day, John Perryman loved people, and people loved him. He changed the lives of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands, through his work fighting for better pay and benefits (including significant pension reform), but in retirement, he made a more direct mark through his dedication to the Blue Nile Children's Foundation, an organization that brought educational opportunities to impoverished and orphaned children in East Africa. In his later years, and right up to his passing, Mr. Perryman championed the environmental rights of Western Pennsylvania residents; his passion for environmental justice has led to significant corrective legal action against US Steel, including the distribution of free in-home air purifiers to anyone within the Clairton community where he lived.

To those who knew him, Johnie was an unrepentant liberal, something of an herbalist, a lover of eclectic art, and a spiritual counselor with a direct connection to the esoteric. He was a man with a deep well of knowledge on so many subjects and always quick to offer a solution. Oh, and he loved a good pineapple green olive pizza, just about anything from Costco, and those bonsai burgers from Red Robin (veggie patty, of course).

He went suddenly after a brief illness, and honestly, we're all still really shocked that he's not here anymore to guide us. No one can fill those big size 13 shoes. Although... he preferred his leather socks that helped him channel earth energy.

Johnie's final wish is to be interred at Volunteer Park in Seattle, the city of his birth.

Please join us in helping get him home.

Any donation, big or small, is appreciated.

God Bless.