Neil Perry, who had served as Methuen’s mayor since 2020, died at age 65, according to city officials. Perry, a lifelong Methuen resident and Democrat, died Saturday. He was elected mayor in 2019 and sworn in in January 2020. City officials said Perry has battled numerous health issues over the past few years, but has tackled each challenge with determination while continuing his mayoral career. He described the mayoral role as “the best job I’ve ever had.” He began his career as a state-certified transitional bilingual educator in Methuen Public Schools before embarking on a 30-year career with Raytheon. He ran for mayor in 2019, promising to increase transparency in the city. “For me, it’s all about personal integrity. I encourage people to disagree with my ideas, it makes me better. But I’m never going to do anything to call my integrity into question,” Perry said at his inauguration in January 2020.
Methuen, Massachusetts —
Neil Perry, who served as Methuen’s mayor since 2020, has died at the age of 65, city officials said.
Perry, a lifelong Methuen resident and Democrat, died Saturday. He was elected mayor in 2019 and took the oath of office in January 2020.
City officials said Perry has battled a number of health issues over the past few years but has approached each challenge with determination, even as he called his job as mayor “the best job I’ve ever had.”
He began his career as a state-certified transitional bilingual educator in Methuen Public Schools and then went on to a 30-year career with Raytheon.
He ran for mayor in 2019 on a platform of increasing transparency in the city.
“To me, it’s all about personal integrity. I encourage you to disagree with my views, it makes me better, but I will never do anything to call into question my integrity,” Perry said at his inauguration in January 2020.
