John Pierce

John Dennis Pierce, of Roslindale, died on September 30, 2024, surrounded by his family. John was born in 1944 to George and Evangeline (Denny) Pierce. He grew up in Hingham where he enjoyed tennis, sailing, and acting in school plays. He graduated from Hingham High in 1962 before matriculating to Haverford College where he studied history. He pursued graduate and professional studies at UC Berkley, Northeastern, and Suffolk Universities. He trained in accounting and held a series of jobs in that field for years, none of which he loved. He much preferred leisure.

John married childhood friend Louise Herman in 1969, and, after they moved to Boston, they had three sons: Thomas in 1971, Smyth (born Joseph) in 1973, and Samuel in 1976. After Louise and John divorced, John met and married Kathy Lacher with whom he had a fourth son, Nicholas, in 1984.

Throughout his life John was active in community organizations. He acted, directed, and produced various plays at Jamaica Plain's Footlight Club in the 1980s. He was particularly proud of his role as coach in, and later commissioner of, Jamaica Plain's Regan Youth League in the 1990s. He was especially proud of his involvement in instituting the opening day parade down Centre Street. He later was on the board of the Roslindale Village Main Streets.

John enjoyed the following: cheese; Cincinnati chili; early modern history; atlases; his late dog Mr. Deeds; corn; malted milks; sitting on porches; recounting his solo midnight walk across Jamaica Pond on the coldest night of 2001; good conversation; arguing; snacks; spectacles; Bill Russell; hating the war on drugs; comedies; the Talking Heads; Marilyn Monroe; learning what people did for a living; lawns; stationary and paper products; laughing; breakfast at any time of the day; silliness; reading magazines while reclining on the sofa; advertisements for luxury watches; Sviatoslav Richter's recording of Bach's D minor concerto; subscribing to magazines; being a Pierce; eclairs and cream puffs; black coffee; soft serve ice cream; looking words up in the dictionary; talking about Kansas and its rolling hills; Larry Bird; Billie Holiday recordings; the Red Sox; parades; holidays; his final job, as proprietor, with Kathy, of the Boston Cheese Cellar in Roslindale.

But what John loved most was being with his family, his wife of 41 years, Kathy, his four sons, his grandsons Amos and Jethro, his sisters Margaret (Daisy) and Mary, his cousin Elizabeth (Libby), his nieces and nephews. He loved sitting around a table, arguing about history, discussing the events of the day, and prognosticating about the future. He leaves a large hole in the hearts of those who knew him.

A memorial will be held at The Substation in Roslindale Square on October 5, 2025, from 1:00-6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Regan Youth League in John's memory.