William Leonard Perman

William L. Perman (Bill) of Mercer Island died on Friday January 27th just short of his 85th birthday. He was born February 20, 1938 to Leonard and Mary Perman in Mobridge, SD. When he was a young boy, the family relocated to Yakima, WA where he was raised. He graduated from Yakima High School in 1956 and joined the United States Coast Guard with five friends shortly after. He was stationed in Hawaii for two years and returned to Yakima in 1958 before going to the Coast Guard Supply Depot in Seattle. It was at this time when he met his wife Barbara at a jewelry store she worked at because, in his words, “my mother sent me there to check her out.” Bill and Barbara were married about a year later and had three children, Julie (Perman) Ross, Bill Perman, and Bart Perman. After completing his time in the Coast Guard, Bill and Barbara returned to Yakima where he attended Yakima Valley Community College before returning to Seattle and earning an accounting degree from the University of Washington and passing the CPA exam. He then joined the firm that is now KPMG where he became a partner and worked in the Seattle office until 1972 when he moved to the Executive office in New York City. After three years in New York, the family moved back to the Seattle area in 1975 where he and Barbara purchased a home on Mercer Island. In 1978, he retired from KPMG and joined two friends in the Seattle CPA firm Hagen, Kurth, Perman and Co. where he worked until his retirement in 2013. Bill and Barbara were active members of Mercer Island Covenant Church for over 40 years and in addition to serving the church as Treasurer, he and Barbara served on the church elder board for several years as well as teaching Sunday School for 2-4 year olds. Bill was very active and started coaching youth soccer when his son Bill’s team needed an assistant coach. Over the next 5 years he coached until both of the boys aged out of youth soccer, then at the age of 42, he started playing himself and played regularly for about 15 years with a team from Mercer Island which had him playing locally, plus a couple of tournaments in Victoria BC as well as three series of matches in Europe. Bill is survived by his wife Barbara, children: Julie Ross, Bill Perman, and Bart Perman, grandchildren: Micah Ross, Sarah Ross, William Ross, Isabel Perman, Rebekah Perman, Jenae (Perman) Reeve and Jayme Perman, plus three great-grandchildren. He was a kind, generous, loving man and will be missed dearly by all who knew him. Bill’s Memorial Service will be held on March 4, 2023, at 10:00 am at Encounter Church at 3200 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the WA State Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at 19031 33rd Ave W Ste 301, Lynnwood, WA 98036 or online at https://www.alz.org/alzwa.