Laurence E. Pierson

Place of birth:

Born at Chicago Lying-In Hospital during the Great Depression, Chicago, Illinois.

Place of death:

Big Bend Hospice, First Commerce Center for Compassionate Care at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

A visitation will be held at Culley’s MeadowWood Funeral Home, located at 700 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, FL, 32312, on October 24, 2025, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The funeral service is scheduled for October 25, 2025, at 1:00 pm at the same location.

Following the funeral, a committal service will take place at MeadowWood Memorial Park, also located at 700 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, FL, 32312.

Life Story:

First Wife: Doris Jean Hawkins of Decatur, IL.

She was born February 18, 1937 and is the mother of all of the children. Died October 10, 1996 of Lung Cancer.

Second Wife: Nancy Jean Krehbiel of Moundridge, Kansas, Married on Aug 5, 1999.

Parents:

Father: Roscoe Vern Pierson Sr., deceased, of Chicago, IL. He worked as a shoe repair shop owner. (1900-1962)

Mother: Mary Jane Craig Pierson LaFollette, deceased, of Normal, IL. She was a seamstress. (1916-1984)

Brother: Roscoe Vern Pierson Jr., deceased, of Chicago, Il. (1935-2009)

Children:

Chris Pierson (Kathy) of Havana, Florida;

Randall Pierson (Marissa) of Tucson, Arizona, deceased (1959-2023);

Bonnie McCutchen (Cliff) of Jackson, Georgia;

Trudy Altman (Anthony) of DeFuniak Springs, Florida;

Thomas Pierson of Springfield, Illinois;

Peggy Anne Pierson, born 1968, of Peru, Illinois. Deceased, lived 4 hours;

Kenneth Pierson of Tallahassee, Florida.

Grandchildren: 17

Joseph Leikam (Katie), Jennifer Tennant (Jason), Sara Morgan (Thomas), Marcus Leikam (Abbey), Raygiel Pierson (Heather), Issau Pierson (deceased), Edger Pierson, Michael Pierson (Katie), Nathan Pierson, Dylan Bryan (Jessica), Misty Ely, Carol Taylor, Megan Altman, Turk Pierson, Ariel Pierson, Jake Pierson, Torina.

Great-grandchildren: 13

Vincent, Mina, August, Melody, Harmony, Gracelynn, Kaylee, Kaidyn, Kai, Kohyn, Kamiah, Brody, Leilani.

Occupation & Achievements:

Taught at Lincoln Senior High School, East Saint Louis, Illinois, circa 1958-1962.

Taught at LaSalle-Peru Township High School, Illinois, 1963-1967. Founder of high school Chess Club in 1963.

Professor of Spanish at Illinois Valley Community College for twenty years until Spanish program was downsized for an industrial robotics program, 1963-1983. Oglesby, Illinois.

Teacher of Spanish, Havana Northside High School, Havana, Florida, 1985-1996.

Adjunct professor of Spanish, Bainbridge College, Bainbridge Georgia, 1999-2000.

Bilingual call center representative for Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), Tallahassee, Florida, 2000-2005.

Teacher of Spanish, Aucilla Christian Academy, Monticello, Florida, 2007-2008.

Adjunct professor of Spanish, Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee Florida for 10 years. 2010-2019. Final teaching date, May 4, 2019 at age 81.

Worked with United States Census Bureau during Census of 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020.

President of AFT Union, led first strike against school board, won right to have a written contract and a health insurance program.

Lion’s Club: 100% President’s award; county of LaSalle, Lion of the year, one of the original founders of Peru Club. Circa 1962-1984.

Founder of Chess Club at LaSalle-Peru Township High School, Illinois, 1963-1967.

Founder of Illinois Valley Community College Chess Club in 1967.

President of Band Parents Association, L-P High School, LaSalle-Peru, Illinois.

President of local Tomahawk Bluff Homeowner’s Association, LaSalle County, Illinois.

Associated with various Boy Scout Troops, Illinois.

Notable Part Time Work:

Worked at the original Steak and Shake location in Normal, Illinois, circa 1954.

Worked at Ford Aviation factory making engine parts for the B-52 bomber, circa 1956.

Termite Technician for Orkin in LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, circa 1977-1978.

Seed Inspector for P.A.G. Seeds, circa 1983.

Briefly made pizzas at Barnaby’s Family Inn, Tallahassee, Florida, 1985.

Delivered pizzas for Domino’s Pizza, Killearn Location, Tallahassee, Florida, 1986-1994.

Made the yeast rolls for Ryan’s Family Steakhouse, Tallahassee, Florida, 1991-1994.

Education:

Hendricks Elementary, Christopher, diploma

Elementary for crippled children, heart- rheumatic fever

Tilden Tech Hich School Chicago, Illinois (1 semester)

Argo Community High School; Argo, Illinois degree

Illinois State University; Normal, IL degree BS, ED

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO degree MA Teachers of Spanish

Additional Graduate hours:

Illinois State University

Universidad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

University of Illinois

Florida State University

More Achievements:

Member of Congregational Church of Chicago, IL

Baptized in Congregational Church

Joined United Methodist Church

Member of Grace United Methodist Church, LaSalle, Illinois, circa 1963-1984.

Member of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, Tallahassee, Florida 1995-until his passing.

Won Radio Station Prize for best Xmas decorations, 1993.

Local Halloween decorations 1985-2024 in Killearn Lakes Area

Local Christmas decorations for same period.

Interests:

Mr. Pierson loved chess, travel, camping, s’mores, hiking, canoeing, family, holidays and holiday decorating, painting ceramics, board games, swimming, amusement parks, mini-golf, ancestry, silliness, history, astronomy, classic movies, classic cars, dancing, reading, and more.

Laurence excelled in the craft of storytelling, a trait he acquired from observing his father interacting with customers at his shoe repair shop. It was a skill that would serve him well throughout his teaching career.