Retired Navajo Nation Judge Carol K. Perry has died. According to tribal leaders, she died Monday in Albuquerque, N.M., and they did not give a cause of death.
Perry was confirmed as a District Court judge in 2007 and served in Tuba City and then in Window Rock for nine years until her retirement in 2018.
Officials say Perry was also knowledgeable of Navajo culture, traditions and language and was a member of the Dine Medicine Men’s Association.
“Judge Perry served the Navajo people with great honor and commitment for many years," said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in a press release. "She was very hard-working and dedicated to our Navajo judicial system and to protecting our sovereignty and way of life. On behalf of the Office of the President and Vice President, we offer our thoughts and condolences for her family and former colleagues. We pray that her loved ones take comfort in knowing that she is now with God."
She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan and began her career as an aide to Democratic Arizona U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini who served until 1995.
Perry was also instrumental in founding Prescott College’s extension campus in Window Rock and helped numerous students complete teaching credentials.
She’s the niece of Navajo Nation Code Talker George H. Kirk as well as Navajo Nation Chief Justice Virgil Kirk, Sr.
Funeral services are pending and will be announced at a later time.
Perry is survived by her partner Stanley Perry. She was 70 years old.