William “Refrigerator” Perry and his wife Sherry Ann Broadwater were married for over 22 years.
Perry is an American former football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League for 10 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears.
Highlights
- William “Refrigerator” Perry was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 2007.
- He married Sherry Ann Broadwater in 1982 but separated in 2004. In 2007, he married Valerie Perry.
- Sherry and William had four children: Norie Shanta, Sherria, Latavia, and William Perry Jr.
Nicknamed “the Refrigerator,” he played college football for the Clemson Tigers, winning ACC Player of the Year. The Bears selected him in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft.
He rose to prominence during his rookie season as a member of the 1985 Bears, the team that secured the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XX.
During the season, Perry occasionally played fullback in goal-line situations and set the record for the heaviest players to score a touchdown at 335 lb (152 kg).
In June 2007, Perry was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves.
Perry was hospitalized in South Carolina in serious condition from his Guillain-Barre syndrome. He spent approximately a month in the hospital before being released.
William Refrigerator Perry Spent Two Decades With Sherry Ann Broadwater Before Marrying Valerie Perry
Former defensive lineman William “Refrigerator” Perry was married to his high school sweetheart, Sherry Ann Broadwater, in 1982 while William was at Clemson.
He started a construction company with Sherry’s father and lived with Sherry in an 18,000-square-foot home in Aiken.
By 2003, Sherry was intent on asking for a divorce from William. Their breakup was messy, and because Aiken was a small town, almost everyone knew he was pining to win Sherry back.
Sadly, they separated in 2004 after 22 years of marriage. The reason behind their divorce has been kept private.
Sherry has managed to avoid the media, so limited information is available regarding her personal life.
After separation, William proposed to Valerie on Christmas Day 2004, and within 15 months, they started dating.
William and Valerie married in 2007 after dating for several years. They have been married for over 18 years.
As William weighs over 400 pounds, he can barely move, and the only exercise he gets is driving to the liquor store.
Valerie always pleads with him to exercise and take his meditation, but Mr. Perry won’t listen.
Earlier in March 2009, Perry told Valerie he wanted to fly to an autograph show in the Chicago suburb of Rosemount.
He’d heard players and coaches from the ’85 Bears would be attending, and it was the first thing in months that made him smile.
Valerie told him, “Will, you’re too sick to go,” but he didn’t hear her.
William Had Four Children With His First Wife, Sherry Ann Broadwater
William “Refrigerator” Perry and his first wife, Sherry Ann Broadwater, were blessed with four kids: Norie Shanta, Sherria, William, and Latavia Perry.
Sherry has custody of all four of her children. They had their first daughter, Latavia, 42, in 1983.
Their second daughter, Norie Shanta Perry, 38, was born on July 4, 1986, at Evanston Hospital. She weighed 3 lbs, 10 oz.
They were blessed with their first son, William Jr., 33, in 1992. In 2014, before William “Refrigerator” Perry was inducted into the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame, Perry Jr. said,
“At first, he was just a regular dad,””I didn’t know how big he was until my classmates started saying, ‘Let me get an autograph from your daddy. I want to see his Super Bowl ring,’ “
William perry Jr.
Sherry and William welcomed their fourth child, a daughter, Sherria Perry, 38, in 1997.
Additional Information
- In 1986, Perry appeared as himself in an episode of The A-Team alongside WWF star Hulk Hogan. He also appeared on a 2002 episode of Comedy Central’s The Man Show.
- Michael Dean Perry, his younger brother and another former NFL defensive lineman, was William’s guardian and conservator for his affairs.
- His nickname, “Refrigerator,” followed him into the NFL, and he quickly became a favorite among Chicago Bears fans. Teammates called him “Biscuit,” as he was “one biscuit shy of 350 pounds.”
