Perry Earl Mann, Jr., age 95, died at home in Hinton, West Virginia, on Monday, September 19th, 2016.

Mann was born on March 12, 1921, in Charleston, West Virginia, to Perry Earl Mann, Sr. and Pauline Ferrell Mann. He had two younger sisters, Eleanor Mann Freeman and Doris Ann Mann Roberts.

In his childhood, he developed a lifelong love for Summers County, West Virginia, where his maternal and paternal grandparents lived. He served overseas as a radio operator in the Second World War, spending time in North Africa and Italy. After the War, the GI Bill allowed him to attend Washington and Lee, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in English, and the University of Virginia, where he received a Master's degree in Education. He married Clara Frances McCormick, and they settled in Covington, Virginia, Clara's hometown, where they raised two children, Jeffrey Allen Mann, born in 1959, and Amy Leigh Mann, born in 1963.

For many years, Mann taught high-school French, English, and Social Studies in Covington and various Virginia towns. He also taught at Concord College and at Hinton High School, proving to be a popular and beloved teacher. After returning to Washington and Lee to earn a law degree, Mann began a law practice in Hinton, West Virginia. In the 1970's, he served two terms as the Prosecuting Attorney of Summers County, later serving one term as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Afterwards, he continued his private practice in Hinton and pursued his two greatest passions, reading and gardening.

A devoted liberal Democrat and environmentalist, for many years he published essays on politics, religion, ecology, and country living in The Nicholas Chronicle , headquartered in Summersville, West Virginia. In 2011 many of his essays were collected by Kettle Moraine Publishing in Mann and Nature , and in 2015 his second essay collection, Secular Mann , was released. Both books earned him many fans from all over the nation.

A celebration of his life will be held from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Saturday November 5th, 2016 at the Hotel McCreery in Hinton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/).