Gilberta Guth Pierson

1930 - 2021

Gilberta Guth Pierson
March 28, 1930 - Nov. 24, 2021
Gilberta Guth Pierson of Fairfield, author of a memoir detailing her experience as the wife of a fighter jet pilot during the Korean and Vietnam wars and an employment counselor for Southeast Asian refugees, died Nov. 24, 2021 after a brief illness, her four children at her side. She was 91.
In "The Fighter Pilot's Wife," Gilberta documents her experience raising her children on military bases while supporting her husband's career as an Air Force pilot. She describes the anguish she and her husband experienced over the death of fellow pilots and the ensuing trauma endured by their widows and children.
In one chapter detailing their early life while stationed in France, she writes of the terror she experienced fearing her own husband had been killed. Her children's nanny came to her and said, "Madame, there are two priests at the door." Accompanied by a visiting priest, the base chaplain saw Gilberta's stricken expression and quickly explained they had just stopped by for directions to a neighbor's house. Gilberta slumped to the floor in a faint.
After her children were grown, Gilberta went back to school and earned a master's degree in career counseling from Dominican College in San Rafael. Working for Catholic Charities in San Francisco in the early 1980s, she developed an employment program that helped refugees from war-torn Southeast Asia adapt their credentials and skills into the American workforce.
Glberta had a gift for remembering names, stayed focused on the positive, loved her family unconditionally and enjoyed life's small pleasures. During the pandemic, she remained independent in her own home, which was full of art and memorabilia from her life's travels and family photos. She coped with the isolation by talking on the phone daily with her family and friends, watching her beloved British series on TV and savoring her nightly screwdriver cocktail.
Giberta was born March 28, 1930, in Tucson, Ariz. to Gilbert Cosulich and Mary Lesley. When she was a young child, Dorothy Theresa Cosulich's name was legally changed by her mother to Gilberta, after her father. Her parents split soon after her birth and Gilberta was raised by her maternal grandparents and extended family.
Gilberta earned a degree in education from University of Arizona. She was a member of the Tri Delta Sorority and was listed in the 1950-1951 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.
On graduation, Gilberta landed a job teaching at the elementary school on Williams Air Force Base, near Phoenix. It was while at a dance at the officers' club that she met Joseph Raymond Guth, who cut in on her date.
In the midst of their whirlwind courtship, Joe was sent to Korea. In a telegram titled "Heaven Sent Chance," Joe let Gilberta know he was returning to Arizona for a training. She picked him up at the airport Friday and he proposed that night. They prepared for the wedding Saturday and, with a special dispensation from the bishop and a ring borrowed from an uncle, were married on Sunday. During a two-week honeymoon in Las Vegas, Joe witnessed an A-bomb test in the desert as part of his training.
After living in Japan and later France, Gilberta, Joe and their children returned to the states and eventually settled in Marin County. Joe, a decorated combat pilot awarded the "Top Gun" trophy while on exchange with the Marines, retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel.
Gilberta later headed the employment development program at the Novato Human Needs Center. She earned an award from the California Career Development Association for her work at the center, which included supporting immigrant communities. She retired in 1995.
Joe died in 1998 of a rare cancer that may have been caused, ironically, by exposure to fallout from the A-bomb test in Arizona that had facilitated the couple's marriage. His eulogy was delivered by Howard Pierson, Joe's best friend.
After the funeral, Gilberta and Howard, of Texas, started a long-distance romance. A retired lieutenant colonel, Howard was a decorated Air Force pilot who served numerous tours in Vietnam. The couple married in 2002; Howard died in 2013.
Gilberta was a life-long devoted Catholic and often befriended the priests who provided her spiritual support. She had many friends, including from her childhood, her years as a military wife, college and most recently at her retirement community, Paradise Valley Estates.
Gilberta is survived by her children, Joseph Guth, of Sausalito; John Guth, of Mission Viejo, and spouse Anna Zheng; Lesley Guth, of Vallejo, and spouse Bruce Leavitt; and Daniel Guth, of Petaluma, and spouse Joanne Guth; grandchildren, Anna, Joseph, Mira, August, Dylan and Nicole; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews; and a half sister, Charlotte Cosulich of Sacramento.
The family is very appreciative of the staff at PVE, especially CNA Faye Baldwin.
Funeral services were private and a mass and memorial are pending. Memorial donations may be made in the name of Gilberta Guth Pierson to the National Military Family Association's Spouse Scholarship Program, www.militaryfamily.org, or the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, www.fallenheroesfund.org