Former Ruston Mayor Hilda Perritt dies at 84

Former Ruston Mayor Hilda Taylor Perritt has died at age 84. 

Perritt, who served as the city’s mayor from 1990 to 1998, passed away early this morning at her home. Funeral services are pending under the direction of Kilpatrick’s Funeral Home.

Before being elected mayor, Perritt served on the Board of Aldermen and was mayor pro tem. She also taught English at Ruston High School.

Perritt first won the mayor’s office garnering 58% of the vote in a race with then-incumbent Mayor Elton Pody. In 1994, she survived a challenge by future Mayor Dan Hollingsworth then lost to Hollingsworth in 1998.

Perritt was the force behind Ruston’s entry into the tax increment district program that’s enabled development that now spans along I-20 from Tarbutton Road to Rough Edge Road. Perritt was also instrumental in development of the current Ruston Municipal Airport.