Russell H. Perry*

Russell Perry grew up with three in the farm town of Cornell, Illinois. At age 15, his family moved to Chicago. After Perry's older brother died, his father left the family, leaving Perry to support his mother and two younger brothers. Having attended only two years of high school, Perry went to work as an office boy in an insurance company. He later took college courses at night.

In 1932, Perry began working for Republic Insurance. Republic transferred him to its New York office as an underwriter. Perry applied to law school in New York City, but was informed that his Illinois credits were not transferable. He therefore attended New York University to obtain the required credits, and was then accepted at Brooklyn Law School. Perry continued to advance his career at the insurance company and passed the bar exam in 1940.

In 1959, Republic named Perry executive vice president, and a year later he was appointed president and CEO. In 1972, he became chairman of the board. He later served as director of the American Cancer Society at the national, state, and local levels.