Walter D. "Duke" Pierce

well i had the most wonderful great grandpapi for eighteen years of my life. that is quite some time and im so very thankful for every moment that i had with grandpapi. i will always remember the last day i saw and talked to grandpapi. i stopped by grandmi's and grandpi's and i walked in and there was grandpapi watching his old john wayne cowboy movie and i gave grandpapi a great big hug and kiss on the cheek and said i love you grandpapi, he smiled his great big loving smile and shook his...

Grandpa was and is the ROCK, the King of our family. I learned a lot from Grandpa and Grandma. He always treated Grandma with the utmost respect. I will always admire him for that. He always treated each grandchild like they were special in their own little way. Like, we all were jewels and golden nuggets! I remember spending many summers and all the wonderful journeys that we took with them. I remember Grandma telling me when I was little, and when I would come to visit them every night when...

A Tribute to our Dad

Well your favorite song was red river valley,
And the world was in your sight for that pot of gold.
But there was more to your life,
with some tractors and some strife,
More than ever could be told.
Well we have our childhood memories,
Of all the things you’ve done,
We never regretted any, not even one.
When we sat around the table, And you told us a tale or two,
They were the best ol’ stories ever told.
When...

Hi Cousins, I am so glad you were able to keep Uncle Duke home in a family setting until he was ready to go. One thing that was very important to him and my Mom was their privacy and pride. They weren't ones to complain and didn't really want the world to know if they were in pain or not their usual selfs. They were head strong and wanted certain things a certain way. The best thing is our memory of them the way they were at their best, and we have lots of those. Uncle Duke past on a zest...

If we could only capture the spirit of our heros in the pierce family of Uncle Dukes generation. I guess we would have had to grown up with them.My mom talked so much about Uncle Duke and how he was always putting her up to challenges when they were young. Like telling her to jump on a cow and ride it and she did it.She would never back down.Because of those competitive challenges I remember her competing and challenging my brothers as we grew up. One time Uncle Duke had a tumor on his arm...

To my cousins and family, we are so sorry for your (and our) loss of Uncle Duke. Reading these memories sure sounds like the ones written for his sister, my Grandma Girlie. She called us "little chicken" and "someone" stealing the heart out of the watermelon was always a hot topic. The world has lost another great character, member of the Pierce family. That group of siblings were the salt of the earth with the biggest hearts, best sense of humor, and huge hearts for their grandchildren. ...

Grandpa, I was one of the lucky great grand kids who really got the chance to know you. I will never forget the walks in the early morning you would take me on and at the end how you always said you would let me hit the punching bag when I was taller.... I never grew.... Spending that week at your house was amazing and I feel blessed to have gotten to do it. The times we would sit and watch Bob Barker and you would tell me when I said I was bored that "the price is right" was a learning...

Grandpa, I remember the flashlights in every room at least one or two or five.I remember mud fights,portuge highballs,always the sly theft of the watermelon heart,the blackberry picking down by the river,all the squash you could eat,and cutting apples.The firewood collecting 2 years ago was just as fun as it was 30 years ago.You were always kind and gentle.Thank you for the joy you taught us as children and how to be good parents to our children,how never to give up,and not to sweat the small...

Gramps..Wow,where do I start..I have some great memories of this man! From patching holes in the water tank at the mine to going on some awesome tractor rides(just watching him start that bulldozer was truely amazing!) to spending time in Grass valley for the summer to make extra money on the Drill Rig and listening to you talk in chinese to the chinese generator while you were starting it(very funny)it was truely an experience.Going to swap meets,boxing with you in the barn,spending time in...