Kanchan Denise Chisako Melemai Perry, beloved wife, mother, and teacher, and a friend to many, passed away on October 4, 2025, surrounded by the love of her family and friends.

Denise was born at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu, in the Territory of Hawaii, on July 25, 1950. She was the oldest of five children. Her father, William Herman Melemai, was of pure Native Hawaiian heritage. Her mother, Helen Sumida Melemai, was of pure Japanese ancestry. Denise grew up in Pauoa Valley in Honolulu. She attended Kamehameha School, the school established by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop for children of Hawaiian ancestry. Denise attended Kamehameha from kindergarten through graduation, then the University of Hawaii, where she received a bachelor's degree in Art Education in 1971. After graduation she attended graduate programs in Ceramics at the University of Hawaii, which is where she met her husband, Bill Perry.

Bill and Denise were married in 1975 by the great Indian saint, Baba Muktananda, who also gave Denise the name "Kanchan" which is Sanskrit for gold. When Bill was accepted to Washington University for graduate school, they moved to St. Louis.

While Bill was in graduate school, Denise worked as a dishwasher, prep cook, and finally, chef, at various St. Louis restaurants, including Balaban's, Sunshine Inn, and Bobby's Creole. In 1976 Bill left Wash. U. to be part of the founding faculty of the Visual & Performing Arts High School. The following year Denise was also hired by the SLPS to work at the Visual & Performing Arts High School.

She was hired from that position by Normandy High School, where she taught art until 1982. She then moved to Normandy Middle School, where she taught art to grades 7 and 8 until 2007. When she retired from Normandy she was hired by Maplewood Richmond Heights to teach in their early childhood program.

Denise was always active. She loved life. She loved sharing food, and she was a superb and generous cook. She loved people, especially children, and children seemed to love her instinctively. She loved toys, and collected toys to give to children. She loved art, especially Indigenous art and the arts of China and Japan. She herself produced and collected artwork that reflected that love, and before she died she became certified as a guide at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Denise passed away of congestive heart failure at the Heart Failure Cardiac ICU at Barnes Hospital on October 4, 2025. She was deeply loved by all who knew her and will be missed by many. Denise's memorial service will be at Maplewood United Methodist Church, 7409 Flora Avenue, Maplewood, MO, 63143. Doors open at 3:30. The service is at 5:00.

Bill

2203 Yale Avenue

Maplewood, MO 63143-1420

314-398-7418

moleculefarm@gmail.com

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