26 DAYS Greer’s Travis Perry spent in hospice care.
Perry’s bile duct cancer had returned just months prior. This time around, the disease was relentless… and ultimately, unforgiving.
But before Perry entered hospice care — rounding the corner toward the eternal paradise awaiting him — Greer showed up for Perry.
The community was shaken by the news of Perry’s deteriorating condition. Greer wanted to show Perry just how much he was loved.
On April 30, 2020, hundreds of Perry’s former and current Greer players, coaches, friends, and students stood outside his home.
They waved to Perry and cheered him on, shouting words of encouragement to a man beloved by all. Perry was a genuine, kind-hearted human being who embodied everything Greer has ever stood for.
Perry was, by all accounts, a Greer boy through and through. He graduated in 1988 after playing quarterback for the Yellow Jackets. He returned almost immediately to become a coach, helping bring home two state titles for Greer — in 1994 as an assistant, and in 2003 as head coach.
As Perry’s time on Earth waned, however, tributes poured in. Thousands showered Perry and family with adornment and encouragement via social media. Perry never met a stranger, and he made an impact on every life he touched.
“During my time at Greer, Coach P was my rock,” said Sinclair Cannon, Perry’s quarterback during Greer’s 2003 state championship. “Everything I had a question or concern about, he would take a deep breath, lick his lips, clutch his hands together, and give me his honest advice… Whenever my parents couldn’t take me to college visits or to games, Coach P would take me.“
Through an open window, and through tear-stained eyes, Perry watched that day as hundreds whose lives he touched came to love on him in his final moments. They shared stories of Perry and prayed over him.
Perry passed peacefully on May 29, 2020 at the age of 49. He spent 26 years as teacher and coach at Greer.
As head coach of Greer’s football team, Perry would stand at the top of the Dooley Field bleachers with his team — as “2001: A Space Odyssey” blared over the speakers — leading the team on the walk down to the field.
“No better feeling than this, men,” he’d often say to his players as they stepped onto the grass.
Have to imagine that feeling was only topped for Perry one time.
On May 29, 2020, when the pearly gates opened for Perry — and he stepped into eternal life.
26 days until high school football.
