Floyd Ralph Pierce, 90, of Willmar, Minnesota, and a former longtime Crookston, Minnesota resident, died Tuesday morning, May 26, 2009, at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.
Floyd was born on November 11, 1918 in Barnesville, Minnesota, the son of Harry and Ethel (Arms) Pierce. That happened to be Armistice Day, signaling the end of WWI, so bells and sirens were blaring as Floyd came into the world. In 1930 the Pierce family moved to Crookston where Floyd graduated from Crookston Central High School in 1936. On May 11, 1941 he was united in marriage to Fern Kinshella at Barnesville. The couple made their home in Crookston and together raised three children, Joan, Mike, and Lynn. Floyd began working for the Great Northern Railroad in 1942. His career was interrupted when he entered the U.S. Navy on April 20, 1944. During WWII he served aboard the USS Audubon as a Quartermaster, taking part in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He crossed the Pacific four times from Hawaii to Okinawa, the Philippines, New Guinea, Guadalcanal, and other destinations- transporting U.S. servicemen and women from one deployment to another. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy on January 4, 1946, Floyd returned home to his family and resumed his career. In 1978 he retired from the railroad, which by then was known as the Burlington Northern. Fern passed away on September 17, 2003, and a year later Floyd moved to Willmar, where his daughter and son-in-law, Joan and Bob, were living.
Floyd was a longtime member of Crookston’s VFW Post #1902 and American Legion Post #20. He was also a member of Crookston Eagles Aerie #873, and Crookston Masonic Lodge #141 AF & AM. Floyd and Fern had been longtime members of the First Presbyterian Church. He will be remembered for his kind and gentle spirit, and delightful sense of humor. He was passionate about reading, and was a lifelong learner to whom many turned for advice. Floyd will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Grateful to have been a part of Floyd’s life are his daughter and son-in-law, Joan and Bob Glaesman of Willmar, MN; son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Jackie Pierce of Eagan, MN; son-in-law, Neal Stenlund and his wife, Pat, of Goodhue, MN; seven grandchildren and one step-grandchild; five great-grandchildren; and one step-great-grandchild; a brother and sister-in-law, Curtis and Alice Pierce of Benson, MN; and several nieces, nephews, and other relatives. Besides his beloved wife of sixty-two years, Floyd was preceded in death by a daughter, Lynn Stenlund, who died in 1994; his parents, Harry and Ethel; a sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn and Lloyd Johnson; and a brother and sister-in-law, Keith and Marjorie Pierce. May God bless Floyd’s memory.
The funeral service for Floyd Ralph Pierce will be held in the Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston at 11:00 am, Saturday, May 30, 2009, with the Rev. Bill Reck, officiating. Visitation will be for one hour before the service. Interment will take place in the Oakdale Cemetery in Crookston with Military Honors provided by the Crookston Veterans Council. Memorials may be designated to the Rice Memorial Hospital Dialysis Unit, 301 Becker Avenue SW, Willmar, Minnesota, 56201.
Crookston, Minn. —
