Jean Prescott Pierce

Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence Chadwick Prescott and Mary Newton Prescott, and her beloved husband, Stephen Mallory Pierce.

She is survived by her sons Stephen Mallory Pierce, Jr., and Adam Prescott Pierce; her daughter-in-law Stefanie Truelove Pierce; her grandsons Garth Wright (Caroline) and Jesse Foley (Jacquelyn); and her great-grandchildren Henry Wright, Theodore Wright, Evelyn Foley, and Owen Foley.

Born on July 9, 1930, in Birmingham, Alabama, Jean grew up on the Southside, where her imagination and love of storytelling took root early. As a girl, she rode buses and streetcars to the many movie theatres scattered across Southside and downtown Birmingham, filling her young mind with the stories and performances that would shape her life's work. She spent idyllic summers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast at her aunt's house, forming memories she would carry warmly for the rest of her long life.

Jean attended Lakeview Elementary School and Ramsay High School before going on to study theatre at Birmingham-Southern College where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She continued her graduate work in theatre at the University of Utah, returning to Birmingham with a passion and a purpose that her hometown would feel for decades to come.

Not long after her return, Jean made television history in Birmingham when she became the first "Romper Room" lady — the beloved Miss Jean — on WBRC TV, charming a generation of young viewers. Around that same time, she was introduced through mutual friends to Stephen Mallory Pierce of Atlanta, Georgia. It was the beginning of a love story that would last 58 years. Jean and Mallory married and made their home in Mountain Brook, raising two beloved sons, Stephen and Adam, in the house that Jean would cherish and call home for 65 years — until just a few months before her passing.

Theatre was Jean's great calling, and she answered it with extraordinary devotion for more than 65 years. She appeared in productions at Town and Gown, Festival Theatre, Terrific New Theatre, the Levite Jewish Community Center, Birmingham Children's Theatre, and many others. But it was Birmingham Children's Theatre that held the deepest place in her heart. Far more than an actress, Jean was a playwright, director, and long-time board member whose contributions shaped the institution profoundly. She wrote more than 20 mainstage and Wee Folks productions for Children's Theatre — some of which continue to be performed to this day. Her first mainstage production, Backstage Baby, written alongside her dear friend Betty Pewitt, toured regionally and culminated in performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The breadth of Jean's impact on the arts in Alabama was recognized in 2013 when she received the Governor's Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, among the highest honors the state bestows on its artists. She served as an honorary chair at Birmingham-Southern College, her alma mater. For many years, Jean was also a dedicated volunteer at WBHM’s Rado Reader program for the blind.

Jean and Mallory were faithful members of South Highland Presbyterian Church, where together they taught Sunday school to generations of young children.

In her later years, Jean took deep joy in her family — in watching her sons build their lives, in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, in the particular happiness that comes from a life fully and generously lived. She was a woman who gave Birmingham her talent, her time, and her heart, and Birmingham is richer for every year she graced it.

A life in the theatre is, at its heart, a life of giving — of offering something true and luminous to an audience and trusting it will matter. Jean Prescott Pierce gave that gift to Birmingham for over half a century. The curtain has fallen, but the stories remain.

The family would like to thank all of the caregivers that helped Jean in her last months at UAB Hospital, Lakeshore Rehab, Brookdale, and Fairhaven. Also, special and inexpressible thanks to Ruby Lee for the loving care that she gave to both Jean and Mallory.

Visitation will be held at Ridout's Valley Chapel, 1800 Oxmoor Road, Homewood, AL 35209, on June 21, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials and donations can be made to Birmingham Children’s Theatre, South Highland Presbyterian Church, WBHM, and Kitty Kat Haven & Rescue.