PRINCETON — Mary Elizabeth Pierson, 90, of Princeton passed away on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, surrounded by loved ones.
Mary was born June 27, 1928, in Ohio, Ill., to Harry and Florence (Eggimann) Duffield.
After graduating from LaMoille High School, she worked as a nanny and then as a switchboard operator for Allied Telephone Company in Princeton. She met and married her love, Elmer George Pierson, and they were wed in a double ceremony with her sister, Verna, and her husband, Bill Lange, at the Kasbeer Church in Kasbeer on March 9, 1952. After starting their family, Mary became a full-time homemaker.
She served as a 4-H leader, a Sunday school teacher at the First Christian Church in Princeton and a parent volunteer at Douglas Elementary School. In addition, she helped establish the library at Washington Middle School, and was a home healthcare auxiliary volunteer.
Mary enjoyed spending time with family and friends, as well as crafts, sewing, gardening and yard work. While traveling on an historical tour through Pennsylvania Dutch Country, she discovered she was a descendant of George Duffield, who served as chaplain to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and to General George Washington, who later became our country’s first president.
She is survived by two daughters, Davida “DeeDee” (Mike) Gassmann of Peachtree City, Ga., and Connie Pierson of Princeton; two sons, Paul (Melissa) Pierson of Grayslake and John (Cheryl Engle) Pierson of Aurora; four granddaughters, Mara (Neil Kornze) Gassmann of Washington, D.C., Jessica (Matt) Chauncey of Senoia, Ga., Amanda (Jeff) Kelly of Fayetteville, Ga., and Katherine Pierson of Grayslake; one grandson, James Pierson of Grayslake; one brother, Wilbur “Skee” Duffield of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; one sister-in-law, Doris Duffield of Princeton; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Elmer Pierson (1995); two sisters, Irene (James) Perkins of Joliet and Verna (Bill) Lange of Princeton; one brother, Harold Duffield of Ohio, Ill.; one sister-in-law, Joan Duffield; and one infant grandson, Michael Pierson.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. until noon at the Norberg Memorial Home in Princeton.
Services for Mary will be held at the Norberg Memorial Home at noon Saturday, Oct. 13, officiated by Pastor Laura Evans Mahn, followed by a graveside service at Elm Lawn Memorial Park in Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the American Diabetes Association.
Online condolences may be left at www.norbergfh.com.
