Pierce, Virginia “Ginny” (1922-2019)

PIERCE, MICKELSON, HADENFELDT, PINKOWSKI, DAVIS, MICKELSON, SISLER, RHODES

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:23

Virginia Pierce
March 4, 1922 - January 29, 2019

Virginia Pierce, age 96, of Storm Lake, Iowa, died on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, in Storm Lake.

Ginny was born to Carl Edwin and Emma Hadenfeldt Mickelson on March 4, 1922, at her parents’ farm near Rembrandt, Iowa. Baptized and confirmed in the Rembrandt Lutheran Church, she attended school in Rembrandt, graduating in 1939. Next, she enrolled at Buena Vista College, graduating in 1941 with a teaching certificate. For several years, she worked as an elementary school teacher in Ruthven and Marathon.

On January 8, 1944, while he was serving in the United States Navy, Ginny married Keith Wilson Pierce in Evanston, Illinois. After the war, Ginny and Keith returned to Storm Lake where Keith practiced optometry with his father. Ginny and Keith raised three sons, Jeff, Tim, and Michael. Having settled in, Ginny created a warm and nurturing home for her husband and boys. In addition, she, always, made people, including her children’s friends, feel welcome.

A member of Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Ginny taught Sunday school for a number of years. Actively involved throughout the years, she held leadership roles in a number of local organizations and clubs including the ’37 Club, P.E.O., the Storm Lake Arts Club and Questers. After the war, she and her other friends started the “Bridgettes,” an organization of which Ginny was the last surviving charter member. A co-founder of Storm Lake’s “Meals on Wheels,” she served on its board of directors for eleven years. Moreover, she served as president of both the Buena Vista Hospital Auxiliary and the Buena Vista County Republican Women.

An active alumna of Buena Vista University (BVU), she served on the BVU Alumni Board for three years and, along with her husband, as a Co-Chair of the BVU Order of the Arch in 2004. Moreover, both she and Keith were honored to receive the Henry Olson Distinguished Service Award from BVU in 2005.

Ginny lived a long and vital life centered around family. A devoted and caring mother to her three boys, she was, additionally, blessed with six grandchildren, and she played an active and positive role in their lives. The past ten years saw the addition of six great-grandchildren, and Ginny thoroughly enjoyed her time with them. She and Keith reached a significant milestone earlier this month when they celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

A person of grace, charm, and character, Ginny was a wonderful, supportive, and much loved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend.

Ginny’s survivors include her husband, Keith; her sons, Jeff Pierce, of West Des Moines, and Michael K. (Margaret) Pierce, of Houston, Texas; a daughter-in-law, Laura Pierce, of Storm Lake; her grandchildren: Allison (Kevin) Pinkowski, of Kansas City, Missouri, Ryan (Heather) Pierce, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Martha (Eric) Davis, of Tucson, Arizona, Michael R. (Krissi) Pierce, of Ankeny, Kathryn Pierce, of Austin, Texas, and Timothy M. Pierce, of Houston, Texas; her great-grandchildren: Connor, Henry, and Kaylee Pierce; Emma and Samuel Pinkowski; and Grace Davis; her sister-in-law, Ruth Mickelson; and her nieces and nephews: Edwin, James, Gary, and Steven Mickelson; Mark Cynthia Pierce; and Rosalie Pierce-Rhodes. Ginny was preceded in death by her parents, her son, Tim E. Pierce, and her brother, Roger Mickelson.

Memorial services will be held at a later date. The family asks that memorials be given to the: Keith & Virginia Pierce Music Endowment Fund at Buena Vista University, 610 West 4th Street, Storm Lake, Iowa 50588. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Storm Lake, Iowa, 2019.

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
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