Kathleen Morris-Kortz

The Morris-Perrone Family Scholarship was created by combining the Rosario J. Perrone Memorial Scholarship and the Joseph P. Perrone Memorial Scholarship.

Rosario “Harry” Perrone was a WWII veteran who served in the Army Air Corps. He was a chemical engineer in the rubber and plastics industry for 40+ years and has his name on several patents. After retirement, Harry had a few hobbies but enjoyed the company of his family and friends the most. He was very proud of his Italian heritage and enjoyed Italian cooking. He was a member of St. Luke’s Catholic Church and became good friends with Father Tom. Harry died in 2010 after a brief battle with cancer.

Joseph Perrone was also a WWII veteran. He worked for the Exxon Company (previously named the Standard Oil Company) for more than 40 years, starting out as Junior Inspector in 1942 and retiring as Section Supervisor in the chemical plant in 1982. In 1934, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor drew the US into WWII, Mr. Perrone took a military leave of absence from Exxon to serve his country. He returned home in 1946 and began training as a Mason in 1947. In 1951, Mr. Perrone once again followed the call to duty and reenlisted in the US Army. In 1981, Mr. Perrone joined the Civil Air Patrol, an official auxiliary of the US Air Force. One of the patrol’s prime functions is to search for downed aircraft and it also maintains an aerospace education program for high school students and adults.