Mona Lee Perry recently celebrated her 95th birthday. Mona was born August 12, 1930, in Hodgen, Oklahoma, to Charles Raymond Perry and Lula Adelaide Thorne. She had three brothers, Charles Hardy, Billy Donald and Lynn Allen, and two sisters, Patricia Ray and Dema Lou.
Upon graduating from Heavener High School in 1950, she moved to Kansas City and began to make her mark.
For more than 60 years, Mona lent her voice to furthering civil rights and diversity, inclusion for American Indians and all minority and ethnic groups. She worked as an employment specialist with the American Indian Center in Kansas City and has volunteered with a myriad of organizations, including the Homeless Service Coalition, Stand for Children and KC Harmony.
Perry has received four certificates of service as a member of the Missouri Advisory Council for the US Commission on Civil Rights. In 2014, Mona was honored with the Martin Luther King Olathe, Kansas NAACP Hero of Diversity Award.
In 2019, Mona was selected for the University of Missouri Starr Women’s Hall of Fame, which recognizes extraordinary Kansas City women, and the AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors, which celebrates a lifetime of service by distinguished Native American elders who exhibit a love of family, dedication to culture, and respect for all people.
Mona is extremely proud of her Choctaw heritage and happy to be back in the Choctaw Nation!