Landon Dale Perdew, a devoted educator, craftsman, and chronicler of Appalachian life passed away at home in The Villages, Florida, where he had lived for more than 20 years. He was 88 years old.
The challenges of rural poverty and the unbreakable bonds of family shaped Landon’s life. His early years, vividly captured in his memoir A Long Look Back, tell the story of a boy who grew up with little but found joy in the small details of everyday life-hoeing rows in rocky fields, walking miles to school, and learning hard-earned lessons under the tin roof of a home that sometimes let in more rain than it kept out.
Those early hardships never embittered him. Instead, they sparked a lifelong commitment to education and self-improvement, themes that would echo through his career and personal life. Landon graduated from Union College and later earned advanced degrees that led him to a distinguished career in education. He served for many years in the Bullitt County School System, where he worked as a teacher and administrator. Landon retired as assistant superintendent in 1994 from the Bullitt County Board of Education, finally overseeing the construction of the Bernheim Middle School. In every role, he was known for his firm but fair approach, sharp sense of humor, and unwavering belief in every child’s potential.
After retiring, Landon did what many dream of but few do-he embraced life with both hands. Retirement, for him, was not a slowing down but a shift in direction. He focused on riding his motorcycle and built a lake house with the help of his son-in-law, Dale, and brother Royce. He created beautiful musical instruments in his woodworking shop, turning rough lumber into smooth, graceful guitars and violins as gifts for those lucky enough to receive them. And he wrote-perhaps his proudest post-retirement achievement-a memoir that doesn’t just tell his story but preserves a fading slice of American history.
A Long Look Back is more than an autobiography; it’s a tribute to a time, a place, and a people. In its pages, readers hear the echoes of coal trains, the sting of winter winds through uninsulated walls, and the laughter of children making do with what they had. Landon didn’t write to glorify hardship-he wrote to remember it, to honor it, and to make sense of the journey that brought him from a tiny rural farm to a well-earned retirement beneath the Florida sun.
He said that his service as a medic in the U.S. Air Force, especially in Japan, changed his life. Working with educated doctors and medical staff emphasized the importance of education.
To those who knew him, Landon was equal parts philosopher and prankster. He could deliver a pointed insight about human nature in one breath and follow it with a joke that would leave a room in stitches. He was an avid reader, a thoughtful letter-writer, and a man of quiet but deep faith. He loved cornbread, porch swings, classic country music, and long conversations that meandered through politics, poetry, and puns.
He was fiercely proud of his Kentucky roots and stayed closely connected to the people and places that shaped him. Though he spent his final decades in Florida, Landon’s heart never left the hills of Appalachia.
Landon was preceded in death by his first wife and mother of Belinda and Damon, Beth York Perdew; daughter Kelly Rene Perdew; his parents, Marion and Ina Perdew; his six brothers, Hugh, Royce, Johnny, Quentin, Ronald, and Clellan; and his niece Jacqueline (Perdew) Coffey.
He is survived by his wife Ann Perdew, his daughters Belinda (Dale) Perdew Taylor and Damon (Tammy) Perdew, Matt Shober, his nine grandchildren, Jo Beth, McKenzie, Hannah, Kaleb, Sarah Dale, Zak, Jak, Ella Rose, and Nevaeh, and his three great-grandchildren, Will, Clara Beth, and Tate.
Landon never stopped learning, laughing, and looking back-not out of regret but to appreciate how far he had come.
A memorial service will be held at a later date to honor and celebrate his life.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St Jude’s Hospital and the American Heart Association in Landon’s honor.
Landon Dale Perdew lived a life of purpose, humility, and heart. He leaves behind a legacy not just in what he built or taught but also in the lives he touched and in the stories he told so well.