Robert Pierce
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Funeral information
Funeral Service: Monday, February 08, 2010 1:00 PM First Christian Church, Napa, CA Visitation: Saturday, February 06, 2010 at Tulocay Funeral Home, Napa, CA; Sunday, February 07, 2010 at Tulocay Funeral Home, Napa, CA BiographyROBERT J. PIERCE1945-2010 Robert J. (Bob) Pierce was born in San Francisco and reared in Napa. He attended Napa public schools and The Principia Upper School, St. Louis, MO, returning to graduate from Napa Senior High School in 1963. He attended Napa Junior College and the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he majored in General Business and became a member of Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity. After completing his professional course of study at San Francisco College of Mortuary Science, Bob passed the State of California Funeral Directors Examination and, following the required apprenticeship term, received his State of California Embalmers License. On an ongoing basis, he participated in numerous continuing education classes, product information education sessions and professional seminars. A second-generation funeral service professional, he has more than 40 years experience in funeral service; including 20 years chief executive officer of Richard Pierce Funeral Service, the family firm, which had a heritage of continuous service to Napa County and the surrounding area since 1863. In 1997, Bob affiliated the family business with Stewart Enterprises, Inc. For 7 years, he served as COO of the Northern Region as well as Vice President of the Western Division for the Company. The Northern Region included 36 mortuaries, cemeteries and crematories between Bakersfield, CA. and Lynnwood, WA. His position was eliminated in November of 2003, when along with 300 other positions, the Northern Region Office was closed. In March of 2004, Bob and his business partner repurchased Richard Pierce Funeral Service and also purchased the former Chapel of the Chimes-Napa Valley Memorial Park and Cemetery, renaming the facility Inspiration Chapel and Napa Valley Memorial Park. His background in California funeral services includes working in Tulare, Brentwood and Burbank, in addition to 34 years with Richard Pierce Funeral Service and 7 years with Stewart Enterprises. He conducted instruction and review seminars throughout California on funeral service Laws, Rules, Regulations and Practices for interested parties and prospective funeral service licensees. Additionally, he was an expert witness and advisor in a variety of funeral profession litigation cases. Bob is a past president of the Redwood Empire Funeral Directors Association and was elected in 1990 to the California Funeral Directors Association Board of Directors. In 1996, he was elected as a line officer of CFDA and has served as Sergeant-at-Arms, Secretary and Treasure. He served as chair of the CFDA Membership, Ethics and Service Committee as well as the Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee and the Political Action Committee. In 1991, he was elected to the Board of Directors of Funeral Directors Service Corporation (FDSC is a wholly owned, for profit, subsidiary of CFDA which operates the California Master Trust, a $60 million Before Need Funeral Trust Fund). In 2003, Bob concluded his term as President of FDSC, a position to which he was elected in 1994. He was an associate member of the Los Angeles County Funeral Directors Association, and a member of the National Funeral Directors Association and the International Cemetery and Funeral Association. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Pauze' Funds in April of 1996. The Pauze' Funds were a group of Mutual Funds specializing in providing an appropriate investment strategy for Pre-Need Funeral and Cemetery Trusts. He concluded his term in 2001. As a 20-year commercial hot air balloon pilot, Bob for many years owned and operated "Aerostat Renaissance" and "Above It All," two hot air balloon companies which had fleets of six balloons. They provided commercial event promotions, balloon excursions and hot air balloon pilot instruction, as well as background staging for photographic layouts in the western half of the Continental USA. He was a member of the Balloon Federation of America, the Bay Area Aeronauts Society, and a founding member of the Professional Balloon Pilots Association of Napa County. Bob has been active in many community, fraternal, civic, service and charitable organizations over the years. He was on the Board of Directors of the Northern California Lung Association, and served for many years as Chair of the Credit Committee for First Napa Federal Community Credit Union (now Redwood Credit Union). For more than 5 years he served as chair of the Project Area Committee, a citizens' advisory group to the Napa City Redevelopment Agency. Bob is a 40-year member of Yount Lodge No. 12, F. &A.M. of Napa and a 32nd degree Mason, who has been involved in various other Masonic organizations, including Napa Chapter Order of DeMolay, for which he was a former Chapter Advisor and to which he belonged as a youth. He was a former member of the Napa Scholastic Association. His involvement with the service clubs took him through the Napa Active 20-30 International, liaison to WOCO (World Council of Service Clubs). He was also a Charter Member of the North Napa Rotary Club. For many years Bob was on the Board of Directors of the Napa Valley College foundation and also served as their secretary. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Napa Valley and was a member of the Napa Valley Country Club. Bob is survived by his mother, Edith Pierce; daughters, Chelsea (Jason) Woolf, and Courtney Pierce; granddaughter, Amelia Woolf; nieces, Merri Lee Pierce and Jill Pierce Abbajay; cousin, Glenn Bookout and great-nephew, Tony Simons. Service will be on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 1:00pm at First Christian Church, 2659 First Street, Napa. Visitation will be on Saturday February 6 from 10am-5pm and Sunday February 7 from 12pm-5pm at Tulocay Funeral Home, 411 Coombsville Road. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Napa Valley. Words of sympathy may be sent to the family on-line at WWW.TULOCAYCEMETERY.ORG. |