PORT CLYDE – The Rev. John Dunton Pierce, 78, a resident of Horse Point Road, died Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, at Knox Center for Long Term Care, Rockland, after a long period of failing health. The Rev. Pierce was born Oct. 23, 1930, in Exeter, N.H., the son of James Dunton and Edna Fernald Pierce. He was a graduate of Dover High School, Class of 1949; the University of Maine, Orono, in 1954; and Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor, in 1958. He began his ministry as a student pastor of Guilford United Church of Christ and after graduating, became the fulltime minister at Center Ossippee (N.H.) UCC Church. He then served as associate pastor at Highland Congregational Church, Melrose, Mass. He also served North Windham Community Church, Durham Congregational Church and 6th St. Congregational Church, Auburn. Retiring from the ministry in the early 1970s, the Rev. Pierce began work at the Maine State Prison, Thomaston, where he worked up to supervisor of security before retiring in the early 1990s. Active in his community, the Rev. Pierce was a member of First Congregational Church, Durham; associate member of Port Clyde Baptist Church; member of Eureka Lodge AF & AM; the Eastern Star; Scottish Rite Bodies, Rockland; Consistory Valley of Portland; Kora Shrine Temple, Lewiston; Midcoast Shrine Club; American Rhododendron Society; Massachusetts Horticultural Society; Maine State Prison Fire Department and Tactical Team; Knox County Firefighters Association; Maine State Federation of Firefighters; American Correctional Association and Law Enforcement Association of Maine. Survivors include two sons, John David Pierce of Washington and Peter James Pierce and his wife, Carmen, of Oakton, Va.; grandchildren, Christopher Pierce of Westbrook, Andrew Pierce, Kelly Pierce and Julia Pierce, all of Oakton, Va.; a brother, Wesley A. Pierce of Barrington, N.H.; two nephews, Loren Pierce and Glenn Pierce, both of Strafford, N.H.; and a longtime and very dear friend, Enid Monaghan of Port Clyde. A celebration of the Rev. Pierce’s life will be held noon Friday, Sept. 4, at Port Clyde Baptist Church. Burial will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Pierce Cemetery, Barrington, N.H. Should friends desire, memorial donations may be made in the Rev. Pierce’s memory to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841. Arrangements are entrusted to Hall & Bibber Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 78 Main St., Thomaston.
REV. JOHN DUNTON PIERCE
