Toloa Jane Perry passed away on March 15, 2025. She was born in Providence, Rhode Island on Oct. 9, 1936, and was the daughter of Guy and Pat Schiller of Lyndhurst, Ohio.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Wooster, Ohio and her Masters of Education from Syracuse University.
While attending Syracuse University she met her husband, James Perry and they were married in 1960. They resided in Cazenovia on Rathbun Road until they built their dream house on Burlingame Road in 2000. They lived in that house until August 2024.
Toloa was a pleasant, multi-talented and resourceful person. She was an amazing artist of many different types of media, especially watercolor. She was particularly good at animal portraits; you can still find her paintings hanging at various locations in Cazenovia.
Toloa’s many talents included gardening, upholstery and cooking. She taught art at Cazenovia High School, as well as painting, upholstery and gave horseback riding lessons. Toloa was an avid equestrian and had a special love for animals, bringing home stray pets at any given time.
Her husband used to say “if you gave her a hippo she would welcome it into the house.”
She took her daughters to Pony Club and spent an enormous amount of time involved with their equestrian pursuits until they went off to college. She was a big part of the foxhunting community in Cazenovia and the Master of Limestone Creek Hunt Club for many years as well as the president and honorary secretary. She was also quite involved with the Cazenovia Gardening Club, Watercolor Society and the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia.
She is survived by James Perry; her two daughters, Tanya and Heather Perry. In addition to her parents, Toloa was preceded in death by her brother Brad Schiller.
A memorial service will be held in her honor at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 12, at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia, 27 Albany St., Cazenovia, with a reception to follow at the Lincklaen House. A private burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Limestone Creek Hunt Club, P.O. Box 286, Cazenovia, NY 13035, online at limestonecreekhunt.org or through email at limestonecreekhunt@yahoo.com.
Condolences for the Perry family can be left at michaelebrownfuneralservices.com.
