John S. "Jack" Pierce

Sanford, Maine – John S. "Jack" Pierce, Jr. (Col.Ret.) died on Friday, November 6, 2020, at Portsmouth Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was 79 years old.

Jack was born in Cambridge on May 26, 1941, to the late John S. and Emily (Bradshaw) Pierce. He was raised in Waltham where, as a young man, his love of baseball earned him many honors, not the least of which was a trophy-winning homerun hitter and pitcher. As a 14-year-old, he and his Prep League teammates won the equivalent of the "Little League" World Series in Pennsylvania. He was a 1959 graduate of Waltham High School where he was a star member of the baseball team. He was approached by the, then, Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds as a shortstop. With his father's counsel, he chose to continue his education and baseball career at Northeastern University in Boston where he remained an all-star and captained the team during his senior year.

He was also a member of the Northeastern ROTC program while earning his bachelor's degree in business. Following his graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. After his active duty in Tacoma, Washington, he served for twenty-six years with the Army reserves, retiring as a full colonel. During his reserve status, he was deployed to Louisiana during the Iran/Iraq war.

Jack had worked as a senior vice-president of commercial accounts at Willis Insurance in Boston. Before that, he worked at Frank B. Hall Insurance. He retired 14 years ago.

In his free time, Jack enjoyed a good round of golf and loved spending time on the water fishing with his boys. His home time passion was his lawn.

In addition to his parents, Jack is reunited with his beloved son, the late William D. Pierce, and his brother, the late Donald B. Pierce.

He leaves his wife, Gretchen B. (Murray) Pierce; his children, James S. Pierce (Beth) of Waltham, Doreen M. Dow (David) of Hanson, and his late son Bill's longtime companion, Michele Kelley of Pembroke; his grandchildren, Cori Small (Derek), Joe Pierce, and Jonathan and Sarah Dow; his great-grandchildren Jocelyn and Griffin Small; his brother and sister, Clifton Pierce (Carol) of Waltham and Charlene Pierce Bourque of Naples, Florida; and his sister-in-law, Lori Pierce of Waltham. He also leaves the mother of his children, Jacqueline (Chaisson) Pierce, and many nieces, nephews, and their families.

Family and friends will honor and remember Jack's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Thursday, November 12th from 4 to 7 p.m.

Graveside services will be held on Friday, November 13th at 11 a.m. in Mount Feake Cemetery, 200 Prospect Street, Waltham.