Richard Baxter Pierce Sr.

Richard Baxter Pierce, Sr., age 85, of Fort Wayne, IN passed away peacefully on June 15, 2025, at his home. Richard was born on April 9, 1940, in Greencastle, IN to the late Stanton Pierce and Lilian Walker Pierce.

Richard graduated with the Class of 1959 from Greencastle High School. He later continued his education at Huntington University, graduating in 1997 with a B.S. in Organizational Management/Behavior. He used his gifts and talents to bless people for many years through his community involvement, volunteer and rich work history which included human resources at Fort Wayne Pools, instructor at Ivy Tech College/Community Counseling Center, and a life coach at Life Plan.

His interests were many, some of which were carpentry, golfing, reading, teaching, and collecting. He enjoyed mentoring and telling jokes (amateur comedian!) as well as sports. He loved his Boston Celtics, Dallas Cowboys, and Notre Dame sports.

As a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Richard was involved in the Stephen Ministries as a Lay Minister and was a valued grief and mental health counselor. He touched many lives through his grief counseling as well as addiction and abuse counseling.

Surviving Richard are his two sons, Christian (Gina) Pierce of Woodland Hills, CA and Dr. Richard (Leigh) Baxter Pierce Jr. of South Bend, IN. Richard also leaves behind his cherished grandchildren: Talor (Julius) Brown of NY; Christian Alexander and Jordan Colin of CA; Avery Hayden of NY; and Cameron Hayden of Indianapolis; and three great-grandchildren, Zimri, Otto, and Oaklyn.

Along with his parents, Richard was preceded in death by brothers Stanton, James, and Thurman; as well as sisters Mary Louise and Gwendolyn.

A Celebration of Richard’s life will be held for family and friends at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 3705 S. Anthony Blvd., Fort Wayne (46806).