Frederick Lowell Peirce

He was born to Edna (Stark) and Lovell Peirce on May 23, 1928, in Palo Alto, California.

He was raised in San Diego, California, attending San Diego High School. He raised racing pigeons, hit rocks with a wooden bat into the canyon below the family home, and enjoyed hiking and fishing in Mission Valley, where roads were few at the time. He played football and baseball. He always thought San Diego was a great town in which to grow up.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Stanford University and pursued his PhD at the University of Arizona.

In the midst of his college education, he accepted a commission into the United States Navy. Ensign Peirce served three tours of service on the USS Burton Island, an icebreaker charged with resupply of other naval ships and naval bases along the coast of Alaska and into the Arctic Circle. He was particularly intrigued by the Diomede Islands and the ship’s journey to Banks Island north of Alaska.

He married his sweetheart, Mary Beth Young, on May 6, 1951. God used Mary Beth’s witness to grow Fred’s young Christian faith. Wherever they lived, faith growth and church fellowship were very important. They made their home in San Diego where their daughter Wendy was born.

Following his service in the US Navy, he began to work on his PhD at the University of Arizona with a teaching fellowship and focus on geology. Fred’s thesis work was done in the Santa Catalina Mountains. One summer the family lived in a camper up in the Catalinas where Fred went out to do his research every day. Their son Dan was born during their time in Tucson, where they lived in student housing - one half of a Quonset hut. Fred received his PhD in 1958, by which time he had been hired by Humble Oil Company to work in research, and had moved his family to Houston, Texas, where their son Wes was born.

The family was transferred numerous times. They lived in Tyler and Midland, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Midland a second time, finally settling in Spring, TX. At each home, Fred worked hard to landscape the yard and always added a small pond to the back yard. During his years with Humble, the company became Exxon. He retired from Exxon in 1986.

He and Mary Beth enjoyed visiting their children scattered about in Nebraska, Louisiana, Alaska and Venezuela. They enjoyed the outdoors, national parks, seasides, hosting the family in Alaska, and visiting extended family and long-time friends who moved away. Fred enjoyed fishing with his sons, golfing, Astros games, biking, birdwatching, croquet, and running a few 5Ks.

When he was 80 years old, his granddaughter, Catherine, told him that she was going to run the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. He paused for a moment and then said, “I think I would like to do that.” The family was surprised. He began training and for 10 months kept at it, keeping track of his training in a small notebook. In June of 2008, he met Catherine in San Diego, as eager as a small child for this adventure of a lifetime. He didn’t know that Catherine planned to run with him. The race began,

Catherine joined Grandpa, and she received The Grand Tour of San Diego - the canyon behind the house in which he was raised, San Diego High School, Church’s filling station where he pumped gas, Mission Valley, Mission Bay, Balboa Park, and San Diego Harbor where he boarded his icebreaker in the 1950s. Grandpa wore a blue shirt that said, “Christ in me, the hope of glory.” Catherine’s shirt said, “This is my grandpa.” with an arrow pointing to her right. Grandpa loved the crowd that cheered on the runners. He finished in second place among the 4 finishers in the 80-and-over division with a time of 6:12:39.

While training for the marathon, Fred noticed birds of prey. He made notes about the hawks, osprey and eagles he saw. He went to his hawk sites daily, making observations, and compiled his notes into two self-published books: Mystories of Nesting Red-Tailed and Red-Shouldered Hawks Near Houston, Texas and Mystories of Wintering Birds of Prey Near Houston, Texas

In 2012, Fred and Mary Beth moved to The Village at Gleannloch Farms in Spring. They enjoyed living in the cottage and eagerly joined in activities. Fred was the president of the resident council for two years. He also authored many articles on birdwatching for the community magazine, The Stable. He enjoyed giving talks on birds of prey to local groups.

The summer of 2020 concerned Fred. It was the summer of Covid and the country was restless. As a result, Fred began working on a book about kindness. Go and Do. Do What? Be Kind. And that explains the man, Fred Peirce. He was kind and gentle, and witnessed the love of Jesus in his words and actions. He was devoted to his bride, and cared for Mary Beth with much love.

Fred was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Beth; parents, Edna and Lovell Peirce; brother Wes Peirce, sister-in-law Maxine Peirce; sister Lucille Buck; brother-in-law Herb Buck; and sister-in-law, Meredith Maurer.

Fred is survived by his three children and their spouses, Wendy and Bill Heider, Dan and Carol Peirce, and Wes and Jeanette Peirce; grandchildren, Catherine Heider and Kevin Morgan, Mark and Dani Heider, Melissa and Isaac Wagner, Holly and George Adamia, Christine Peirce, Michael and Jesse Peirce, Derek Peirce, Jason Peirce and Kelcie McKinley; great-grandchildren Leah, Elliott, and Mae Heider and Marni and Orson Wagner; brother-in-law, Edward Maurer; cousins, nieces and nephews.

The memorial service is on Friday, April 3, 2026 at Northwest Bible Church, 5503 Fellowship Lane, Spring, Texas, at 10:00 am. The inurnment for Fred and Mary Beth will take place at Houston Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, a contribution can be made to Northwest Bible Church, Between Jobs Ministry (BJM). betweenjobsministry.org

The family would like to thank special friends Mary Jay Sizenbach, Jackie Riley, Donna Rubli, the fellowship group, Connie Villaglor, Mike Herron, the chaplain at The Village of Gleannloch Farms, and the VGF staff for their care for Dad. We thank the Northwest Bible Church staff for their compassionate ministry. ALL of you, over the years, have shown care and kindness to Dad and Mom and we appreciate your time, friendship, and ministry to our family and especially to Dad and Mom. God bless each of you!