A Kansas City man who graduated from high school in 1977 has been saying thank you to the teachers that left a lasting impression on his life - by sending them sums of money . Kevin Perz , 56 , a father-of-four and business owner , has been looking up the teachers he has the fondest memories of from his days at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield , Missouri . Over the past few years he has been mailing them a 'gift ' . It started in 1992 , when he sent a check to his calculus teacher made out for $ 5,000 . Then in 2002 , he sent a $ 10,000 check to his former business teacher . Huge gesture : Kevin Perz , 56 ( right ) , a father-of-four and business owner , has been looking up the teachers he has the fondest memories of mailing them a 'gift ' . He recently sent Marilyn Mecham ( left ) , his onetime home economics teacher , a check for $ 10,000 . The thank you note : This is the letter Kevin Perz sent his former teacher , which had a $ 10,000 check attached to it . In it he says he would be 'sad ' if she did n't spend the money on herself . Perz ( left ) recently sent Marilyn Mecham ( right ) , his home economics teacher in 1977 , a check for $ 10,000 . However the person he really wanted to surprise - his home economics teacher - was the hardest to find , because Perz only knew her as Mrs Mecham . Perz enlisted the help of the Alumni Association , who went through decades-old board room minutes . They were then able to uncover the name for Perz - Marilyn Mecham . From there , Perz was able to find a phone number for Mecham 's son , who he called and asked for her information . Perz then called Mecham and told her how long it took him to get to that point . ' I was so appreciative to have somebody spend all that time looking for you to tell that you meant so much in their life , ' Mecham told ABC News . Mecham was moved by the call , and took to her Facebook profile to urge others to reach out to someone who had impacted their lives . Flashback : Marilyn Mercham ( left ) was in her first year of teaching when she had Perz ( right ) as a student at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield , Missouri , in 1977 . Kind : Perz said he felt it important to show the people who had impacted his life how grateful to them he is . However that was n't the end of it . Two days later she received a handwritten letter from Perz , reiterating what he had told on the phone . Attached to the letter was a check for $ 10,000 . Perz had written he would be 'sad ' if Mecham did n't spend it all on herself . 'She called me Monday - she said she got it Friday and she spent the whole weekend crying , ' Perz told ABC News . 'Everybody in their life can always think back to someone in their life who had an impact , if it 's a teacher or a boy scout leader or anyone . ' Great teacher : Marilyn Mecham was in her first year of teaching when she taught Perz in home economics . Perz owns a company called Dynamic Fastener , which sells tools and fasteners to commercial contractors throughout the country . The experience has left a lasting effect on Mecham , who was in her first year of teaching when she taught Perz . 'Gratitude is something in this society today that we just do n't do enough of , ' Mecham told ABC . 'It 's made me stop and think who do I want to thank , ' she said . 'Whatever I did my first year of teaching was quite unremarkable but what Kevin has done is really remarkable . '
Kevin Perz , 56 , owns a construction equipment business in Kansas City . He has spent time over the years tracking down high school teachers and sending them checks to thank them for making an impression on him . Marilyn Mecham taught Perz home economics in 1977 at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield , Missouri . He sent her $ 10,000 and told her to spent it all on herself . ' 'm going to buy you some new clothes so that we can go out together more often'he said.