David Pierson

David Pierson
1935 - 2011
Husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, neighbor, valued friend and advisor. Born in rural Nebraska to Clarence and Roberta Pierson, Dave was one of four children. His father was a country doctor and his mother a nurse. Stricken with polio at 14, Dave spent six months and twelve days confined to an iron lung, resolving never to allow adversity to prevent him from accomplishing his goals. As a teenager his family moved to Westchester, California where Dave attended Westchester High School. At UCLA, he studied Political Science and participated in Project India, going on to law school at UC Hastings, where he worked nights as the school janitor to pay his way. After law school, he and his then-wife Lois settled in Inglewood, where Dave went into private practice as a probate attorney and they had three daughters. While in Inglewood, he served as a city councilman and later held a seat in the California State Assembly. At the time he became famous for commuting to Sacramento by plane every day and returning home at night to be with his family. An entrepreneur, Dave distinguished himself in many industries, including commercial farming, banking, real estate development, and hospitality, creating businesses that made jobs for thousands of people. In his later years he moved to Beverly Hills and then on to Rancho Santa Fe, where he remarried in 1998. He and his wife Pam later settled in the central California town of Creston. Dave is survived by so many who will miss him: his wife and her two sons; his three daughters from his first marriage; eight grandchildren; a brother and a sister; nieces and nephews; his closest childhood friend Sheldon; colleagues and business associates; and the many who enjoyed his good humor, generosity, and love of life, travel, learning, and all that the wide world has to offer. Donations in his memory may be made to the World Health Organization's Global Polio Eradication Initiative at www.polioeradication.org.