Bertha Olga (Fahrenback) Pierce (1868-1958)

FAHRENBACK, PIERCE, GILLILAND, HARDENBROOK, MILLER, REID, UNWIN

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:13

From Nevada Evening Journal October 29, 1958 (page 6)

MRS. BERTHA PIERCE

Funeral services for Mrs. Bertha Pierce, 90, were held in the Colo Evangelical United Brethren church on Saturday, Oct. 25, with the Rev. James Ogden officiating.

Mrs. Merle Dickinson was the organist and accompanied Mrs. Wayne Handsaker and Mrs. Ralph Schnur as they sang "The Old Rugged Cross," "My God and I," and "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere."

The flowers were arranged by Mrs. Edgar Hemping and Mrs. Nellie Weir.

The casket bearers, who were grandsons and a great grandson, were Albert B. Gilliland, Jr., Donald Hardenbrook, Paul Miller, Gary Hardenbrook, Joe Reid and Richard Unsin.

During the service the scripture reading, The Twenty-Third Psalm, and the Bible verse "Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" were used by Rev. Ogden. These were both favorites of Mrs. Pierce. It was also announced that a Memorial Fund in her honor had been established by her friends.

Members of Isabelle Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star of Colo attended the services in a body and conducted the graveside service.

Burial was in the Nevada cemetery.

Obituary

Mrs. Bertha Olga Pierce, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Fahrenback was born on June 30, 1868 in Germany. She died on Thursday, Oct. 23, 1958 at the Story County Hospital in Nevada, Iowa where she had been a patient the past two weeks.

On Aug. 5, 1885 she was married to Frank A. Pierce and to this union were born four sons and five daughters.

Mrs. Pierce, who had been a resident of Story County for the past 78 years, was a member of the E.U.B. church in Colo, Isabelle Chapter of the Eastern Star and the Garden Club. She had been an Eastern Star member for 44 years and was Chaplain for more than twenty years.

Survivors include two sons, William of Akron, Ohio, Merl J., also of Akron; three daughters, Mrs. Estella Hess, Harlan, Mrs. Laura Gilliland, Cherokee and Mrs. Emma Molyneux, Rolfe; nine grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 1936 and by two sons, Harold and Fred and two daughters, Mrs. Ethel Lear and Mrs. Edna Unwin.

From Out-of-Town

Out of town attendants at the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. William Pierce of Akron, Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Pierce, also of Akron, Mrs. Estella Hess of Harlan, Mrs. Laura Gilliland of Cherokee, Mrs. Emma Molyneux of Rolfe, Albert B. Gilliland Jr. of Gary, Ind., Mr.and Mrs. Paul Miller and Mr. and Mrs. Will Unwin of DeKalb, Ill., Mrs. Ed Barr of Muskegon, Mich., Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hardenbrook and sons, Gary and Earl of Mapleton, Iowa.

Also Mr. and Mrs. Joe Reid of Des Mones, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Unwin of Le Clair, Mr. and Mrs. Floye Unwin of Ames, Mrs. Lee Gook, Mrs. George Patterson, Mrs. Bessie Dilly, Mrs. May Settle, Miss Beeula Settle, Miss Theresa Morell, Miss Effie Danskin and Miss Sibyl Danskin, all of Nevada.