Travis Perry, the beloved athletic director at Greer High School, died Friday morning. He was 49.
Travis Perry, the beloved athletic director at Greer High School, died Friday morning. He was 49.
Perry was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, had surgery last September when he was declared disease free, but in December his stage 4 bile duct cancer returned.
Perry loved everything about Greer High School where he was a three-year starting quarterback (class of 1988). After graduating Newberry College, Perry spent all but one year of his 24-years teaching, coaching and administrative career at Greer High School. He spent 2014-2015 as athletic director at Christ Church High School.
He helped Greer win two of its three state football championships – as assistant coach under Stewart Holcombe in 1994 and as head coach in 2003. Perry underwent chemotherapy during the 2018 season but managed to help coach Greer to a win in the Class AAAA Upstate championship game.
Perry is a member of the Greer High School Athletic Hall of Fame He was 42-13 overall and 12-3 in the playoffs. His .764 regular season winning percentage and .800 playoff winning percentage remain as Greer standards.
The motto, “It’s all about the G,” was the rallying phrase Perry emphasized to the Greer high school community. While Perry was battling the disease, students and teachers wore the Kelly green T-shirts, symbolic of the color associated with the cancer in support of Perry.
Hundreds of people appeared at Perry’s driveway on April 30 to offer prayers and support as he began to live out the remainder of his life under hospice care. Perry gallantly and briefly was helped by his family to the second floor window of his bedroom to thank them for their support.