Jerry Lee Pierce (1941-2019)

PIERCE, ELLIOT, PAUL, OLMSTEAD, GUARINO, RUPPERT

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:11

Obituary From Adams Soderstrum Funeral Home, Story County, Iowa.

Jerry Lee Pierce, age 77, of Ames, lowa, passed away on Thursday, September 26, 2019.
Friends may call from 5-7:00 P.M. on Monday, September 30, 2019 at the Adams Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Ames, Iowa. Burial will be in the Ames Municipal Cemetery in Ames, Iowa.

During his life, Jerry impacted many through pursuit of his great passions: educating and serving others and cheering on his beloved Iowa State Cyclones. Generations of students boast impeccable vocabularies thanks to Mr. Pierce’s visually stimulating and unforgettable teaching techniques. He was proud to be named Iowa Teacher of the Year in 1995.

Others in the community benefited from Jerry’s role as a founding member of the first emergency medical response team in Iowa trained at the EMT level in the early 1980s.

He tutored many students from other school districts, some adults, and students from other countries. He taught in Russia, the Czech Republic, and the Ukraine. He enjoyed teaching and was always “clewing/clueing” people in about mythology by handing out thousands of clews (spools of thread) to people brave enough -- or clueless enough -- to ask him about the plethora of thread spools on his belt. Quirky and brilliant, many area residents knew him as the King of Hilton and King of the Mall, due to the large Iowa State crown he was often seen wearing.
Jerry was born on a farm near Russell, Iowa, to Everett and Ethel (Elliot) Pierce. He graduated from Clarke Community High School in Osceola in 1960, from Iowa State University in 1964 with a degree in English, and 1966 with a teaching certificate from Drake University.

In 1964 he married Kay Paul of Osceola, his high-school sweetheart. Together they raised their family in Roland, where Jerry taught English at Roland-Story from 1966 until his retirement in 1999.

In addition to his role as lowa Teacher of the Year, Jerry served as the lowa Ambassador for Education and was one of 20 American teachers selected for a Presidential Teacher Exchange with Russia. His service in support of education spanned his career, including work with ISU’s Teachers on Television and Upward Bound programs and the College of Education’s Teacher Advisory Board, and the Teacher Advisory Board for the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory in Naperville, Illinois.

Jerry was a Stephen’s Minister for Bethesda Lutheran Church beginning in 1995. He also served as a board member on the Ames Youth and Shelter Service Policy Prevention Board. He was a founding member, board member, and program presenter of the Ames Life After Death of Spouse for recently widowed people – inspired to help others after his wife was killed in a car accident in 1989.
He was also a member of the Ames Area Amateur Astronomers.

Jerry is survived by his children: Kelly (Mike) Olmstead, Wendy (George) Guarino, Vin (Angela) Pierce and V Pierce, and Savoeun (Lyle) Ruppert; as well as 11 grandchildren; his brother Don (Peggy) Pierce, sister-in-law Linda Pierce, and brother-in-law George (Phyillis) Paul. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Kay; and his brother Gary. The Pierce family would also like to honor the parents of Savouen, Vin, and V: Hoeun Cut and Chhim Chem, who died in the Cambodian genocide.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Adams Funeral Home and online condolences may be left for the family at www.adamssoderstrum.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Bethesda Lutheran Church, 1517 Northwestern Ave., Ames, Iowa 50010.

http://www.adamssoderstrum.com/
 

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