Lucille Harris Pierce

Lucille Pierce, beloved wife, mother and friend, died peacefully on Wednesday, December 3rd, surrounded by her family. She was 104 years old. Lucille is survived by her son Sam (Karen), daughters Nancy (Doug) and Julie (Wayne), nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

It's difficult to encapsulate Lucille's extraordinary life and its profound impact on others in a few words. She was born May 19, 1921. Her formative years during the Great Depression were times of economic hardship and she often spoke of her father's work ethic, determination and deep commitment to higher education. While Lucille came of age during the leanest of times of the American experience, her bubbling personality, sunny optimism and natural charm attracted life-long friends.

Lucille often cited her time at Reed College as among the most significant influences in her life. It was there, on the library steps, that she met her future husband, Sam Pierce. Together they raised four children in their Eastmoreland house, just steps from the college campus where they met. Vacations were spent on the Long Beach Peninsula, where they later retired. When her children were older, Lucille went to work in the Reed College admissions office, a career at which she excelled.

While Lucille embodied many traditional values rooted in family, church and community, she was decided and vocal in her politics, her sense of justice and what it meant to be a member of a democratic society. Accordingly, she was an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and liberal causes. In the 1990s, Lucille initiated the family Women's Weekend, an annual event that featured conversation, food, sharing books and goals, walks on the beach and the kind of convivial camaraderie that was a defining feature of Lucille's life.

Lucille loved music, travel, and the arts. After retiring, she and Sam both volunteered at the Ocean Park Library near their Klipsan Beach home and also became active in both the Water Music Festival and summertime "Jazz and Oysters" event. A long-time patron of the Portland Opera and Symphony, Lucille loved attending live performances, welcoming every chance to 'dress up' as she saw fit. She was a life-long member of the All Saints Episcopal congregation where she was active as a Lay Reader. She was also an active member of a quilting group and treasured member of her calligraphy group. Lucille travelled the world with family and friends where she managed to squeeze in visits to La Scala, a climb to the top of the Acropolis, tours of the Alhambra, and a motorcycle ride in Viet Nam.

Lucille survived the death of her beloved husband, Sam, in 2009, after sixty-two years of marriage. In 2012 she endured another tragedy, with the loss of her son, Gregory, to cancer. In the shadow of these tragedies Lucille's faith, along with the support of her family and friends, enabled her to begin another chapter of life.

It was a source of great joy that Lucille saw her grandchildren establish loving and happy marriages and begin families of their own. Her grandchildren, Sammy, Alison, Jessica, Nathan, Caitlin, Kelsey, Ashley, Lindsay and Maxwell simply adored their grandmother, instinctively recognizing the extraordinary role she played as a lynchpin for the Pierce family. Extremely close to her nieces and nephews, she was effectively a second mother to them when their own parents passed. She adored her great-nephews and nieces as she did her grandchildren: with love, pride and delight. She taught her children and family through her life-long example of unconditional love, unstinting generosity, health, dedication to family and a simple joyousness in life.

A celebration of Lucille's life will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church in Portland on Sunday, January 18th at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Portland Youth Philharmonic or the All Saints Episcopal Church Renovation Fund.