Dr. Paul L. Pearce

1930 - 2024

Dr. Paul L Pearce left this earth on February 19, 2024, to be with his Heavenly Father. He was born to Paul L. and Bernadine Brookshire Pearce on June 23, 1930, in Tyler, Texas.

As a young man, his parents moved quite frequently which took him to Mount Pleasant, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and finally, Houston Texas.

He attended Jeff Davis High School where he was selected as manager of both the football and basketball teams and graduated from there in 1947. He then moved back to Tyler to live with his grandparents Arthur and Lizzie Brookshire to attend Tyler Junior College. Upon graduation from TJC, he moved to Commerce, Texas and enrolled in East Texas State Teachers College, which is now Texas A&M Commerce.

Upon graduation from East Texas State in 1952 with a BS degree, he received a commission in the US Air Force as a second lieutenant. He completed his pilot training and received his wings at Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi. After graduation from pilot instruction school at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama, he was assigned to Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. There he was a training pilot instructor and instructed in the T-6 Texan, the T- 28 Trojan, and the B-25 Billy Mitchell.

He resigned from the Air Force in 1956 after experiencing a broken back received in a plane crash. He returned to college for pre-dental requirements and entered Baylor College of Dentistry in 1958 and graduated from there in 1962 with a DDS degree. He practiced dentistry in Vernon, Texas for 10 years and then in Fort Stockton until 1975. He was then hired by the University of Texas Dental School in Houston. While there, he met Susan Glover, and they were married in 1980. They made their home in Horseshoe Bay, Texas while they were working abroad. They were both hired by an Arabian American company to work in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He worked there until 1986 and enjoyed many trips around the world during this time. On these trips around the world, he skied amazing slopes, played on numerous golf courses, took many cruises, and made countless friends along the way. He returned to Horseshoe Bay and started a dental practice in Marble Falls. He also worked as the consulting dentist for the Dental Hygiene program at Austin Community College.

In 2001 he sold his dental practice to the Ritchie Dental Group and continued working with the Austin Community College Dental Hygiene program.

Due to Susie's diagnosis of breast cancer in 2007, they relocated to Sun City, Tx to be near medical facilities. There he continued to consult with the ACC Dental Hygiene program until Susie's passing when made his way back to the Hill Country to retire in Meadowlakes, Texas in 2014.

He continued to play golf and volunteered at the Baylor Scott and White Hospital and the Church at Horseshoe Bay. He spent countless hours taking his great grandsons Riley, Camden, and Wyatt to the golf course, the Home Depot building days, the park, and for rides around the neighborhood in his golf cart. He truly loved these boys! We had an annual tradition of participating in the neighborhood Fourth of July parade and often took first place in the golf cart decorating contest.

During his lifetime, he served on numerous boards including serving as President of the Texas Dental Association and serving as a city councilman and mayor pro tem in Fort Stockton, Texas. He practiced and taught dentistry for almost 60 years.

Paul was preceded in death by his grandparents Arthur and Lizzie Brookshire, parents Paul L. and Bernadine Pearce, brother Arthur Pearce, wife Susan Pearce, stepson Benjamin Huselton, and granddaughter Paige Corbell.

He is survived by his brother Bob Pearce and sister Janet Woods, three children from his first marriage to Mandy Hoover of Vernon, Texas: Paul Davis Pearce and wife Jane of Friendswood, Tx; son Patrick Pearce and wife Keli of Water Valley, Tx; daughter Pamela Pond and husband Bill of Meadowlakes, Tx; and by his grandchildren Nelda Corbell, Kelsey Kerr, Zachary Kerr and wife Debbie, Jillian Pearce; and by his beloved great grandsons Jackson, Riley, Camden, Wyatt, and Brody.

A special thanks to the Arbor House and New Century Hospice of Marble Falls for their kind care and to life long friend USAF Retired General Christopher Adams for his support.

Paul will be laid to rest with military honors at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas at a later date. For information on his service, please access the Ramsey Funeral Home in Georgetown's website.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Church at Horseshoe Bay, Texas or to the Worship Place in Sun City, Texas.