Corwin Arthur Pierson

Corwin Arthur Pierson, 87, of Peoria, Illinois passed away Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.He was born December 2, 1936 in Peoria to Leroy Emerson and Isabelle (Sutherland) Pierson. He married Mary Charlene Kelsch on December 28, 1961. She passed on November 6, 2019.Corwin is survived by three children, Suzette Marie Pierson of Chicago, Bernadette "Chris" (Kathalin Walker) Pierson of Page, Arizona; and Gerald James (Catherine Wong) Pierson of Lexington, Kentucky; five grandchildren, Kevin (Kara Intrieri) McInerney, Mary Katherine "Katie" (Bobby Cook) McInerney, Tobias, Penelope, and Raphael Pierson, three great-grandchildren, Callan and Aidan McInerney, and Mary Cassandra "Cassie" Cook, and his siblings-in-law, Geraldine and Harold Nesbit and Mark and Marlynn Kelsch. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Perry G. "P.G." Pierson. Corwin was a graduate of Peoria Central High School, attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for two years, and managed a movie theater in Iowa. He was employed for most of his working life as a journeyman brick mason at Keystone Consolidated Industries in Bartonville, Illinois. After retirement, he worked as a groundskeeper at Madison Golf Course in Peoria. A convert to Catholicism in his twenties, Corwin was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He enjoyed railroads, history (especially WWII), classic movies, collecting coins, and feeding squirrels and birds from his back balcony. He was a dedicated golfer and was active with the Peoria Sandtrappers Golf League into his eighties. Corwin was unassuming, gregarious, and had a unique laugh. When he enjoyed something, he would declare that he "got a kick out of" it and, perhaps, would have gotten a kick out of this obituary.
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