Obituary of Richard G. Pierce

Richard F. Pierce March 5, 1928-October 29, 2020 Richard G. "Dick" Pierce of Vancouver, Washington died at Ray Hickey Hospice House, on Thursday, October 29 at the age of 92. He was born in Saranac Lake, New York on March 5, 1928, son of the late Frederick J. and Mildred (Stern)Pierce. He graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1945, and attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he completed a bachelor's degree in music. Dick fell in love with the trumpet at an early age, and was playing in local clubs by the time he was 16. He also had a knack for managing talent, and his first job out of college was at the William Morris Agency in New York City. In 1951 he was drafted and served until 1953 as a private in the 169th Infantry, stationed in Germany, where he was a bugler and also led the division band, the "Bel Aires". After the army, Dick joined Lou Walters Enterprises in New York, booking entertainment acts at the Latin Quarter and other showplaces. At one of these shows he met the love of his life, Mary Patricia "Molly" Brady from Bayonne, New Jersey, who was singing in a trio called "The Manhattans." They married on January 26, 1957 and shared 60 years of marriage until she passed away in Vancouver on June 16, 2017. In the 1960s, Dick formed his own company in New York, Industrial Staging Inc., and produced Cadillac and Volkswagen car shows. In 1967 he and his family moved to High Point, North Carolina where he was a sales manager for Alderman Studios. He stayed in the furniture business the rest of his long career, as a marketing executive and sales representative for Ridgeway Clocks in Martinsville, Virginia; Seth Thomas Clocks in Thomaston, Connecticut and Atlanta, Georgia; Baldwin Piano's clock division in Cincinnati, Ohio; Freeman Products in Englewood, New Jersey; and Rhythm USA clock company. Dick was a very loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother. He was also a "cool cat" who loved jazz and classical music, and occasionally performed in local venues in the many places he lived. He leaves his daughter, Jennifer "Jenny" Teppo and son-in-law, Arnie, of Vancouver; son R. Andrew "Andy" Pierce of Maynard, Massachusetts and his significant other, Diana Powers; granddaughters Kirsi Teppo, Senja Teppo, Anika Teppo and Ilsa Teppo; brothers Alan F. Pierce of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and Robert F. Pierce of Crompond, New York; and many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. He is predeceased by brothers Donald L. Pierce and Harry A. Pierce. Services will be held in Saranac Lake, New York at a later date.