We moved all of the post from the Blog to this page.
If you would like to add to this page please email us. Thank you,

Blessings, by Coy Johnston By mackpadgett on Mar 23, 2011

Last year, Coy Johnton offered this blessing when we were gathered together at Cedar Crest for Perry's funeral. At the time, I was not paying that much attention. This year, a representative contingent of "the crowd" was gathered at Lewis' for supper and Coy's blessing was used again to bless what was a wonderful meal. We all agreed that these thoughts needed to be available for the larger audience.

Dear God, We thank you. We thank you for this day and for the reasons we are brought together, For the wild and noble game we love – and hunt, And for the energy, courage and boundless love of our dogs, And for the cold winds and for the rains that peltman and beast alike, And for the beautiful guns left by good men long forgotten — who shared our passion, And for the paradox of a hunter’s life in which he is destined to be misunderstood because he is compelled to kill a few of what he loves most, And for this dark and ancient land with all its secrets and for friends who last a lifetime, And for the awful knowledge that we pass through this life but once—and by this we are humbled and feel your presence. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and the betterment of our souls.

Amen Let's eat .... Mack

The "Doctor of 1000 Trouts", By john lee on May 12, 2011:

I first met Perry through my best friend, Randy Anderson, who was Perry's 1st cuz. Shortly after buying Cedarcrest Farm he invited us up for a dove shoot along with Randy's dad, Cohen. We had a wonderful dove hunt at the Garden spot and shot a limit of doves(and then some). I am blessed with many great memories of the times we had with Perry after that...Randy, Perry, Buck and I made our first trip after Texas quail in 1993... It was unbelievable. We shot a limit of birds (60). 3 straight days... Randy and I have been back a bunch of times since then but nothing has matched that first year! I especially appreciate that I got to take my son up for 2 great Duck hunts with Perry. The first time, my son was about 7. We arrived in time to watch thousands of ducks coming into the ponds that evening. In anticpation of the next morning, my 7 year old asked" Daddy, whats the limit on ducks??" My favorite memories of Perry were when he would invite us to fish with him at Edisto. He liked showing off as a fishing guide and putting me and his cuz on to fish at his "secret spots". He told me once that his goal in life every year was to catch 1000 trout so I called him the "Doctor of 1000 trouts" which he liked. I have a place at Fripp and bought an ice boat a few years ago. I told Perry that I was going to swoop up from the South and pick him up at the marina at Edisto. We could go fishing on my boat and then I could mark his "secret spots" on my GPS. He always seemed to have something else to do when I would call from Fripp! But he made sure to invite me and Randy a couple times each year to fish with him on the Mako! This past fall, Randy and I left Fripp and found a few of his St. Helena honey holes. Banks creek, Monkey Island and the shell bank in the Coosaw river... We caught acouple of nice limits of trout. I think Perry would have been smiling... We also got stuck on a sand bar for 4 hours! I KNOW he would have been laughing and snickering about that!!!

Fishingng on the Ogeechee and Canoochee Rivers, By randycanderson on Aug 30, 2010:

My cousin Perry, I miss you dearly and the hunting and fishing trips are unforgettable and etched in my memory forever.

Come May or June my phone would ring and the number on the screen would come up 864-420-0896 and I would answer and before I could hello, P would say "alright cuz when are we going fishing". And before you knew it, I would hear the engine of that Cesna 182 6499 Skylane Foxtrot circling overhead at my cabin and landing at nearby Statesboro International Airport. Of course, if P told you he would be there at 2:00, you knew in your mind that meant 3:00 , but he always promised he wouldn"t be late.

Redbreast fishing in Bulloch County, Ga. on the Canoochee River and the Ogeechee River ranked high on P's list and we were like two little kids going fishing for the first time, excited as ever about what the days fishing would bring. I guess the reason he loved it so much is because CJ (P's dad) would come fish with my dad (Cohen) back in the 50"s and 60's on the same rivers and CJ would go back and tell his son how great the fishing was. Anyway, P would always bring with him a new rod or reel or lure and couldn't wait to try it out on some of those "titty gripper redbreast".

At the airport, I would always pull my truck right next to his 182 so he could load everything in the back and not waste a lot of unnecessary energy walking back and forth from a distance. I think he appreciated that.

Off we would go, boat in tow and we would often detour to stop by Vandy's Barbeque Restaurant for a sandwich and me a sweet tea and him a diet Pepsi. Usually, the ride to the river would take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, so we had some great conversations during this time and even sometimes P would take a little siesta. Can you imagine that?

After we launched the boat in the river and loaded it up with gear, it always seemed that P would get in the front of the boat first and then I would proceed to the back. He often would offer to run the electric motor from the back of the boat but he would say "my arthritis in my left hand may flare up and I better not try it." That meant I was his guide for the day and I didn't mind it one bit. We would both have our shirts off within 100 yards of the landing because you are talking about mid-June and July in south Georgia and it must have been 150 degrees.

I got a great big smile on my face (and he did too) every time he caught a nice fish and he would start hyper ventilating and with sweat rolling down his facehe would say "hurry up cuz, get me to the next hole so I can catch another one". He took great pleasure in catching more and bigger fish than you could.

P was a precision caster. He could cast a lure in a coke can at 25 feet, but occasionally he would get careless and it would land in a bush about 10 feet above the water and we called this "squirreling". I would tell P to let's catch the fish in the water first, then we will try to catch the ones in the trees.

Maybe, one day P can show me that the barbeque sandwiches and fishing in heaven are as good as in Bulloch County, Ga. Miss ya cuz.

Randy Anderson

The good ole days, By bob on Jun 19, 2010:

Everyone who had a good time with Perry DeLoach, say I. I. In the past3 3 years we hunted and fished all over the low country of South Carolina, Georgia, Delaware, North Carolina, Alabama and Costa Rica. Perry had a love for the great outdoors and an energy that created good times.

In the past 15 years Perry and I have hunted turkeys in the North Carolina mountains where I live. We have had a tremendous time playing with turkeys in some of the most beautiful habitat one could imagine. As I hunted and worked this spring I couldn’t help but think about every bird we worked, hundreds, sometimes we won, some timeswe lost. The great thing about spring turkey hunting is every hunt is different. We carry a bag of calls and sometimes we try all our tricks. On some of our most fun hunts we only got a story. What a celebration of life it is, being part of the spring rituals of the wild turkey. When we met at Airy Hall Plantation, Perry was practicing in Charleston and soon moved to the Upstate. Being a wildlife manager with a little knowledge of farming I became one of the people Perry called for adviseat his farm. We shared a burning desire it improve wildlife habitat and wildlife.

When Perry moved to the Upstate he did a lot of entertaining at the farm. He would come to the low country and say,” Ellie, I need a little gator for a cookout”. We would ride rice field dikes until he saw the one he wanted. I would shoot it and he would strip down to his shorts and swim out and retrieve the gator. I was always impressed at what a good retriever he was. Along about 1990 gators were getting really thick. Perry came down and we found the one he wanted. I shot it and he striped down to his shorts and swam out to get it. As he reached the gator, I called out. Hold up P we’ve got a problem. All the splashing around had excited other gators and they were coming toward him from all directions. He was treading water with his hand on the gator that was shot. I started shooting, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. When I stopped shooting 6 more gators were spinning and bobbing in a 10 foot circle around him. I asked, “P is that going to be enough for today.” He said that was enough as he dragged them all to the bank. He never was much of a retriever after that day. Like many of you, my life has been richer because Perry DeLoach lived and shared his blessings with me.

Great Site - What a tribute! By paule on Aug 4, 2010

I became friends with Perry's son, Buck, while we were at Clemson together starting in the late 1990's. It is through that friendship that I was fortunate enough to get to know Dr. DeLoach over the last 10 years or so. Reading through this blog I am a bit jealous of those of you who knew him longer, but I realize how lucky I am to have been blessed with his friendship for the relatively short time that I was. And make no mistake, he was a friend. One of his greatest strengths, I think, was his ability to walk, and to help us "kids" walk, that sometimes blurry line between being "my friend's father" and being "one of the guys." Even as our generation got older and he began to treat us on a more equal footing, we never lost sight of the fact that he was a man who deserved our respect and gratitude, and I know that I can speak for a large number of Buck's good friends when I say we were always happy to give him both.

Dr. DeLoach was generous in such a way that if he had lived to be 100 I could still never repay all that he gave me. Not material gifts necessarily (althought here were many fine meals enjoyed at his table and many comfortable nights slept in his homes), but the more lasting gifts of memories and numerous life lessons, both big and small. Several months before he died I was lucky enough to spend a day fishing around the creeks and flats of Edisto with Perry and Buck. It was a great day filled with many laughs and quite a few fish. But my lasting memory of that day will always be Dr. DeLoach sincerely apologizing tome for not putting me on enough fish. Imagine that...after spending his day, and his boat, and his bait money, and his gas money, and his time showing us some of his "honey holes" (and I'm not naive enough to think that he ever actually showed me, or anyone else, any of his really good ones!), Doc still felt the need to apologize because he was worried that I hadn't caught enough fish or had enough fun. It was as if he felt he could never give enough. Well let mesay here and now Doc: you gave us all more than enough.

I'm sure I failed a time or two, but I tried never to show up at the farm for a duck hunt or a dove shoot or for any other reason without a bottle of liquor to help stock his always open bar. I can say with some measure of pride thought hat I never once bought him a bottle of that God-awful Courvoisier that he grew so fond of. Regardless, he always made darn sure that I never left without having helped make a pretty good dent in whatever it was that I happened to bring. If anyone ever doubted the parable of the loaves and the fishes, they just needed to spend one night eating and drinking in the company of Perry DeLoach...there just always seemed to be more than enough to go around. More food, more drink, more laughs - it always seemed to appear out of nowhere - and it never ran out until the last stomach was full, the last sip was sipped, the last laugh was laughed, and the last eye was shut.

There are plenty of you out there who knew Dr. DeLoach much longer and much better than I did, and I know you all have plenty of better, more memorable stories to tell. I will end with this thought though. There is a small group of us who were fortunate to be at the farm with Doc on one of his last nights before the Good Lord called him home. I can say with complete certainty that until the very end he was doing something that he loved -entertaining his family and friends, both old and new, and sharing his good fortune, his good humor, and his good will with those of us who were lucky enough to have been there. And although there are only a few of us who were fortunate enough to have been there with him on that one particular night, we can all be thankful and certain that he will remain with each of us, always.

God Bless You, Dr. DeLoach.

From an old friend from Walterboro, By ozzie on Jun 5, 2010:

I have been in the Middle East for the past 8 months, and I have just found about Perry's death. I am still in shock over the news. Perry Deloach was the best friend I ever had from age 6 to 20. Grades 1-12 together in Walterboro, cub scouts, jr. high football, 4 years of high school football. We were lineman. Root-hog or die for Coach Linley! Together four years at Clemson. All the days hunting and fishing together. He introduced me to Bennett's Point, Monkey Island, the Light, Edisto Beach, summer trout, cobia, spanish mackerel, a Mitchell 300, his 13 ft. Boston Whaler. We went out 12 miles in it once. Coast Guard helicopter thought we needed rescuing. Crazy. Mallards, Summer Ducks, even Hooded Mergansers. I introduced him to fly fishing for bass and brim and crappie at Santee. Imagine, fly fishing, wading for bass. He taught mehow to duck hunt and to water ski. My Dad usually had a dove hunt for us togo to. Worked together for Dad summers and school breaks, marking timber and loading pulpwood at the woodyard. He was P, and I was Oz. Perry hadmany, many good friends when we were growing up; and I was lucky to beamong them: Bucky, Gene, Wilk, Fastback Freddie, Padge, Walt, Bubba, Kenny, Huff......the list is long, and I shouldn't have started naming, as I amnot thinking straight and I'm leaving out too many. I had an idyllic boyhood in Walterboro. A great place to grow up in the '50s and '60s. P taught me how tostudy. He was the smartest guy in our class; and he worked at it. Never cut a corner; was the most conscientious guy I knew. Mazie raised chinchillas; and when she got rid of the chinchillas, P moved his bedroom into the Chinchilla house. I thought that was the coolest thing, and I spent many nights there studying until the wee hours. He made me a better student; and I don't think Cleo or Bernard, or even Mazie really believed we were actually studying. But our grades showed it. Nobody put more effort than P. I knew he'd be a brilliant doctor. Perry's Pond. The parties there, starting with our fathers' parties. Nights of fish fries, oyster roasts, poker, beer and liquor. My Dad was standing next to Clinton when he died; caught him when he fell, right at the stove,stirring the frying fish. We carried on the tradition. Every Thursday night, parents knew where we were, and didn't worry (too much)! We drifted away after Clemson, or at least I did. P went off to med school, and he became that brilliant doctor; Married Marilyn, that beautiful girl who was my neighbor and who I was too shy to talk to when we were kids. And I went off to the army and married Georgann. In my mind I always thought we'd re-create those days, and he did; but I never came back. We never met each other's kids. Marriage, kids, a career of army assignments, all conspired to lead me to another wonderful life. And I am truly blessed. But I always thought I'd see P Deloach again. I miss him now.

A mere passing friend, By lnoyes on Apr 9, 2010:

I just wish to apologize if I am intruding into a personal space. I received a letter from Dr DeLoach's office sadly informing me of his passing. I was hit with conflicting emotions, as the letter was dated March 5, more than a full month after his death, but not sent until April 7th, another month having passed. I attempted to leave a message on the website provided, but it kept telling me that my message had problems and was not accepted. I began to search for details as I also was searching for reasons for the deep sense of loss I feel, as my window of contact with Dr DeLoach (I wish to call him Perry, as do his close friends, but feel a need torefrain, as my "friendship" with him did not span the time I feel necessary to be privileged to be on a first-name basis) only lasted about 3 1/2 months-the time from his stark diagnosis to his releasing me from his care and back into my "regular" life again. But, even in that short period of time, I have come to realize something...I am convinced that Dr DeLoach came into my life at a time when I needed him more than just to treat a physical ailment. At first, his bluntly telling me that I needed major surgery was kind of a shock. But, as the whole series of events unfolded, I was rewarded with peering into the life of a very spiritual man that truly cared about those that his life touched. We had a little disagreement about procedure at the start, but after discussion and affirmation of faith in a God that takes care of those faithful to him, we were the best of friends for the short time I was under his care and privileged to know him. I lef this care with a profound knowledge that the great God that I serve truly cares about us. I also left his care with a little piece of vital personal information that has helped me more than anything anyone else had given me and continues to help me on my journey of life. Something so personal and beautiful that I knowthat our meeting was for a higher reason than I can truly fathom. He fixed meand encouraged me like no one else had. For that I do not believe I ever really had opportunity to thank him, because that stark realization is something that just recently became clear to me. I look forward to the realization of the promise from John 5:28-29 when Dr DeLoach will hear Our Lord Jesus' voice and come out to learn the truth of our purposes in life and God's promises for our eternal future. My sincere condolences to his family, his dear friends and his colleagues for the loss of one so precious and full of life and love. Thank you for setting up this beautiful place to remember him.

Laurie

P, By sleavitt on Mar 25, 2010:

Things I miss: "Whatcha say,buddy?" "Let's cook up" "A lovely courvoisier?" "We'll ease into the duck pond" "I tore them up" "Red hot" You filthy beast"" The difference between expectations and reality are the measure of frustration" and so on. He lives in my dreams as I'm sure he does in all of your's.

Family, By deloachp2003 on Mar 22, 2010:

Perry came by one afternoon at Edisto Beach. I don't remember how the subjec came up of dying. Perry said that he hoped Buddy and Marilyn died before him and me because they wouldn't know what to do without us. Well, it didn't workout that way and Marilyn is a strong woman. As for Buddy, if he lives to be 100 I hope I live to be 99 and 364 days because I don't want to live 1 day without him. Those DeLoach boys are special.

My biggest regret is that I never told Perry I loved him (or Marilyn, Brett or Buck). I won't make that mistake again.

Many Thanks, By drsdaughter on Mar 18, 2010:

Thank you so much for your hard work on this site. It is a wonderful way for allof us to share the special gift God gave to us...Time with my Dad! Each picture captures his energy and life. Every story will characterize the amazing person he was to each of us! I am so thankful for this wonderful gift! I will enjoy visiting this site often!

Thank you Jack!

Dr. "P", By horseman on Mar 18, 2010: Through out life we are lucky to have good friends. I have just a few. Good friends are those that you can count on day in and day out no matter what happens. Perry was one of these special good friends. He was someone I could talk to. No matter what we discussed he never judged me and more often than not, if I had a problem he showed me that it wasn't as big as I had originally thought. My good friends know who they are. I don't have to mention their names.

They all loved Perry. I did too.

DeLoach By bob on Mar 16, 2010:

This site is dedicated to honoring the memory of Dr. Perry DeLoach. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Perry, mostly hunting and fishing in wild places. He was a busy person to say the least. I intend to write some of my favorite stories soon to share with others although I am challenged with where to start.
bob

Thank you
Info@CedarCrestFarms.com