Obituary of Perry Dean Lord

Perry Dean Lord, age 89, died on Saturday, December 9, 2017 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He and his wife Barbara Beck Lord had recently moved to Chattanooga from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Born in Willow Lake, South Dakota in 1928, Perry grew up in Missoula, Montana and graduated from Montana State College with a degree in architecture. After college he served in the United States Air Force. Perry’s career was centered in Boston and New York. As a young man he was a partner in the Boston architectural firm, Lord & Den Hartog. In 1966 he became a partner in an international architecture/engineering firm headquartered in New York City, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, and eventually a senior vice president of Parsons Brinckherhoff Inc. in charge of the firm’s Boston office. In 1978 he formed the Parsons Brinckherhoff Development Co., which he headed until 1980 when he formed The Lord Company, a real estate development company with a focus on the redevelopment of historic properties. One of the company’s first projects was the renovation of the old freight depot on Market Street in Chattanooga. The Freight Depot, a specialty retail center, opened in 1985. As a part of this project he opened Perry’s, a fine-dining restaurant in 1986. Upon retirement Perry and Barbara moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida where he was active as the Main Street manager from 1994 to 2007, and as a volunteer mediator in the Okaloosa County Court system. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Barbara Beck Lord; son Bradford Reed Lord and daughter Pamela Lord Matthews; son Beck Towery and daughter Lee Towery; and six grandchildren, Samantha Jean Lord, Danielle Reed Lord, Jonathan Bernard Matthews, Kaila Grace Matthews, William Perry Matthews, Joseph Thomas Matthews and Jennifer Ratiya Lord. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are by Wann Funeral Home & Cremation Center (423-821-7551. Please share your memories, stories and photos at www.wannfuneralhome.com.