J. Suzanne Pierce

J. Suzanne (Sue) Hockin Pierce, 85, of Ann Arbor, MI died January 16th, 2026 at Trinity Health Hospital in Ypsilanti, MI after a short illness. Sue was born January 12th, 1941 in Punxsutawney, PA, a coal miner’s daughter of Percival S. Hockin Sr. and Adah D. Bassett Hockin. She grew up in Punxsutawney, graduating from Punxsutawney High School in 1959.

Sue married Robert Pierce on June 1st, 1963; they remained together for 22 years until his death in 1985. Sue was also preceded in death by her parents and four brothers, Percival S. Hockin Jr. of East St Louis, IL, James Hockin of Indiana, PA, Kenneth Hockin of Winchester, VA and John Hockin of Punxsutawney, as well as three sisters, Jean Hockin Segner of Chesapeake, VA, Eleanor Hockin Nystrom of Indiana and Lucille Hockin Belin of Punxsutawney. She is survived by her sons, Sean Pierce of Gettysburg, PA and Jeffrey Pierce of Ann Arbor, as well as numerous nieces and nephews around the country.

After high school, Sue attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and became a dental assistant in Indiana. After marrying in 1963, she moved to Lebanon, OH, with her husband, as he started a new job with the Department of the Interior. After their first son’s birth, they moved to Whitmore Lake, MI, later moving to Ann Arbor, where her husband supervised the development of the Great Lakes Basin, and their second son was born. Sue lived in Ann Arbor until she died.

Sue was proud of being a homemaker and raising her two sons, but several years after her husband’s death, she started a new retail career at J.C. Penney in Ann Arbor's Briarwood Mall, where she worked for 20 years. After retiring, she enjoyed gardening, family reunions, taking day trips to Shipshewana, IN with her son Jeff, and reading…which included visits to the Ann Arbor District Library’s Westgate Branch to sit near its fireplace. She also met regularly with friends, as well as former J.C. Penney co-workers for lunch.

She loved her English ancestry; Her grandfather, William Hockin, immigrated to the United States in the 1880s from the coal mining region of Newcastle, England, and the Hockin family soon established coal miner traditions in western Pennsylvania. One tradition involved organizing coal miner baseball and soccer teams, and her family’s soccer team wore the "Newcastle United FC” home colors. For this reason, Sue enjoyed watching English Premier League soccer, especially Newcastle, as well as the Mexican Premier League team “C.F. Pachuca,” since Pachuca traces its lineage to Cornish miners from England. She was especially proud of her father who supported his family by mining coal before and after serving in World War I. He later became the superintendent of the No. 8 mine in Punxsutawney and was well known for strict adherence to mine safety. She loved the Pittsburgh Steelers...notably the Terry Bradshaw era, the Penn State Nittany Lions and of course Ann Arbor’s legendary Michigan Wolverines: Leaders and the Best.

Cremation arrangements are under the direction of the Muehlig Funeral Chapel, Ann Arbor. A memorial service will be held in the Spring or Summer of 2026 in Indiana, PA where Sue will be buried.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231 (https://www.heart.org/ ) or the American Diabetes Association P.O. Box 7023 Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 (https://diabetes.org)

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231 (https://www.heart.org/ ) or the American Diabetes Association P.O. Box 7023 Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 (https://diabetes.org)