Wesley Leon Pierson

Wes Pierson, 71, of Middleton, Idaho and long-time resident of Emmett, Idaho, died at a local area hospital, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014, from sudden cardiac arrest. A private memorial service and dinner will be held for close family and friends.
Wesley Leon was born in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 30, 1942, the oldest son of Maynard and Anna Pierson. He grew up in the mountains of Forest Ranch, Calif. and spoke of attending a one-room school house that held grades one through eight. He graduated in 1960 from Chico Senior High School in Chico, Calif.
In 1961, Wes joined the US Navy. After his honorable discharge in 1965, he moved back to California and worked for the Forest Service. Then in 1971 Wes moved to Yerington, Nev., where he met and married Marjie (Gundersen) Funderburg on March 6, 1971; and became a stepfather to Dayna and Danny Funderburg. They lived in Reno, Nev., then Boise, Idaho, where he worked as a fuel delivery driver and operated his own landscaping business for 17 years. During this time their son, Robert, was born (1976). In about 1986, Wes took training in appliance repair and then started a new business Alpine Appliance which operated in the Emmett and Middleton areas until his retirement in 2012.
In 1982 his stepson, Danny, was seriously injured in a car accident. For the next 20 years, Wes and his wife Marjie took care of Danny in their home until Marjie's death in 2002. In 1988, he moved his family to Emmett. After his wife's death, Wes married Renee Fossin in 2003. After their divorce, he then married Susan Cortright on April 7, 2008, in Lovelock, Nev. She is a fourth grade teacher at Shadow Butte Elementary in Emmett. The two of them where happily married until his sudden death.
Wes loved gardening, and every year would supply the family with a wide array of vegetables. In addition to gardening he loved to read and fly fish. Everyone who knew Wes thought highly of him and enjoyed his sense of humor.
Survivors include his wife, Susan Pierson; son, Robert and daughter-in-law Tammy Pierson, grandchildren Austin and Marika of Emmett; a brother, Stan and sister-in-law Barbara Pierson of Boise; and a brother, Dennis German of Chico, Calif. He is also survived by his stepchildren, Danny Funderburg of Nampa, Idaho and Dayna Clark of Westport, Wash. and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was also close to his newer stepchildren, Jennifer Rodriguez of Weiser, Idaho and Dennis Anders of Ontario, Ore., as well as many grandchildren.
Final arrangements were with the Potter Funeral Chapel of Emmett.