Doris Mary (Jolley) Pierce passed away peacefully on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021 at the Idaho Falls Community Hospital following complications of a recent fall. Tenderly surrounded by loved ones, she graduated from mortality with a life well lived, leaving a legacy of love and kindness that will be felt for generations to come.
Doris was born Jan. 31,1926 in a small frame home in Kimball, ID. The daughter of John Alma Jolley Jr. and Hannah Eliza Butler, she was second youngest of 13 children. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, her early childhood was filled with love and happiness and she was forever surrounded by nieces and nephews who were like siblings to her. At 95, Doris was the last living survivor of her family’s generation. With a deeply rooted pioneer heritage and enduring faith in God, she was the joining link that united the strength of the past with the hope of the future.
Blessed with the Jolley family gift of music, Doris had a beautiful soprano voice. As a child she sometimes sang on Saturday morning radio broadcasts and in her teens she sang lead in her family’s band at area dances. Stepping away from the microphone or setting aside her saxophone, she enjoyed the attention of many young suitors and was often admired as one of ‘the prettiest girls in the valley.’ During a high school football game between Firth and Aberdeen she met Stanley Pierce who played on the Aberdeen team. They dated for a short time but often danced at Saturday night dances. When Doris’ 1944 Firth High School graduation picture was taken, many of her classmates were absent – as almost all the boys were far away in the rages of WWII. After graduation, Doris worked at the C.C.Anderson department store in Idaho Falls as she and Stanley’s courtship resumed and continued until being married in the newly completed Idaho Falls LDS Temple on Dec. 19, 1945.
The young couple moved to the Aberdeen area where they lived and farmed for over 40 years. Here they raised six children: Kathy (Harlow) Andersen, Marilyn (Clifford) Whyte, Brent (Anne) Pierce, Monte (Julie) Pierce, Nina (Tom) Biesinger and Tammy (Dan) Nelson.
In 1989, they left the farm and began a new season of life living closer to family in Utah.
Doris was an active and devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where she served in various callings, always willing to share her musical talents and singing with her husband Stanley at many programs, funerals, and weddings. The clearness of her voice never left and at age 94 she was still leading the music for church services at the Gables assisted living center. She served for many years with her husband as a Temple ordinance worker in the Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City and Bountiful Temples – an opportunity she always considered to be a great blessing.
The couple were living in American Fork, UT, when Stanley passed away in 2017. When living alone became too difficult, Doris returned to Idaho in 2019 to live in the Gables of Idaho Falls Assisted Living Center in close proximity of her childhood home. After so many decades it had to be a difficult transition, but she met it with the same fortitude and resilience as she had met so many other great trials and challenges in her life. She remained active and as independent as possible until her accident, enjoying nearly three years of excellent care, wonderful new friends and frequent visits from family both near and far. Doris’ kind influence continued to bless others throughout her entire lifetime and she will be remembered with love and gratitude.
A cherished mother of six, grandmother of 21 and great-grandmother of 36, she was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley H. Pierce, son-in-law Harlow Andersen and grandson Lynn Andersen.
The family would like to express appreciation to the kind staff and dear friends at the Gables of Idaho Falls; and for the gentle professional care of the doctors and nurses at the Idaho Falls Community Hospital. The personal dedicated service of the Hawker Funeral Home holds an added significance in Doris’ life – as this beautifully restored historical landmark was the former Tabernacle Building where she was baptized as an eight year old child.
A funeral service celebrating Doris’s life was held at the Hawker Funeral Home, 132 S. Shilling Avenue, Blackfoot, ID, on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 at 2 p.m. The service could also be viewed online at www.hawkerfuneralhome.com/page/broadcasting. The family greeted friends and loved ones one hour prior to the service.
A graveside service was held on Monday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery, 500 N. Main, Pleasant Grove, UT.
Condolences may be shared at www.hawkerfuneralhome.com.
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