John Piercey

1931 - 2023

John Piercey

1931 ~ 2023

Holladay, UT-John Piercey passed peacefully from this life on Tuesday July 11 surrounded by family at the age of 91. He was born on August 22, 1931, the fourth child out of six to Joseph Knowles Piercey and Verda Gould Piercey. He married Jane Okerlund Piercey on July 14, 1961 in the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since his baptism at the age of ten, after having been invited to attend a church meeting with his friends.

John had a love of all sports but his great love was of baseball. He was a catcher and played professional baseball from the ages of 17 to 20 years old. He played for the farm teams of the Cleveland Indians and the Baltimore Orioles. Right before he entered military service, he was scouted by the Detroit Tigers to sign a major league contract, but turned it down because he had already committed to the Navy where he served during the Korean War on the aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown. He loved his time serving his country and made some of his closest and enduring friendships during that time.

John attended the University of Utah where he majored in Journalism and was the editor in chief of the University newspaper. After the Korean War, he went on to attend the University of Utah Law School where he graduated first in his class and received many awards and accolades for his excellence, hard work, and outstanding understanding of the law. Some of his awards included receiving the Order of the Coif and being selected as editor of the Law Review.

He enjoyed a long and successful career in law and business.

John led an adventurous and interesting life but his greatest love, by far, was his family. His generosity also moved him to reach out to strangers and friends alike to provide assistance and support, often intervening in the lives of people down on their luck, offering them jobs and treating them with dignity he knew they deserved. Every person around him was a soul to be cared for and valuable in the eyes of God. He never spoke of his frequent good deeds, his loved ones only learning of them often years after the fact from those he had loved and helped.

John is survived by his wonderful wife Jane Okerlund, his beloved brother Ralph Piercey, his cherished children and grandchildren and son and daughter in law: John Bradley Piercey (Paige Piercey, Ava Piercey, Nicolas Piercey); Kristen Anne Piercey, Jani Piercey Stone (husband Jared Stone, children Kira Elizabeth Stone Miles and husband Benjamin Miles and their children Scarlett Miles and Zara Miles, Samantha Stone, Matthew Stone, Amanda Stone, Alexa Stone, Joseph Stone); David Piercey (wife Andrea Piercey and their children Katelyn Piercey, Lauren Piercey, and Maya Piercey).

A graveside memorial service will be held for John, Tuesday July 18, from 10am to 11am at Memorial Holladay Cemetery, located at 4900 South Memory Lane, Holladay, Utah 84117.