John "Earl" Pierce

PIERCE COON KIRKPATRICK

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/27/2010 at 21:49:32

Sioux City Journal
16 February 2003

OTO, Iowa -- John "Earl" Pierce, 87, of Oto died Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003, at a Sioux City hospital.

Services will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Armstrong Funeral Home in Mapleton, Iowa, with the Rev. Karen Handke officiating. Burial will be in Westfork Township Cemetery in Climbing Hill, Iowa. Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home.

John "Earl" Pierce was born Nov. 25, 1915 in rural Woodbury County, the son of John C. and Jennie V. (Coon) Pierce. He attended school and graduated from Oto Public High School in 1933.

On Dec. 16, 1937, he was united in marriage to Genevieve E. Kirkpatrick in Elk Point, S.D. Earl started his own livestock trucking business shortly after graduating from high school. He and his wife owned and operated Pierce Trucking Service for 52 years before retiring in 1985. He was one of the first recipients of the Pioneer Trucking Award.

Earl was a member of the Oto United Church of Christ, the A.A.R.P., a former member of the Oto Public School Board, the Anthon-Oto Community School Board, the Oto Fire Department and the Iowa Better Trucking Bureau. He liked baseball, basketball, dancing, dogs and county fairs. After retiring, he and his wife enjoyed and were involved in many Senior Citizen activities.

Survivors include Genevieve, his wife of 67 years; a son, Larry of Sioux City; a sister and her husband, Wanda and Clifton Weber of Cushing, Iowa; a favorite cousin and his wife, Cliff and Lucille Coon of Sioux City; numerous other cousins, nieces and nephews; along with a host of friends and old truckers.