John Victor Pierson (1933 - 2004)

Born 29 Mar 1933 in Greymouth, West Coast, New Zealand

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 11 Jun 2004 at age 71 in Christchurch Hospital, 2 Riccarton Avenue, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Clare Pierson [send private message]

Biography

John Pierson has Irish ancestors.

John Pierson has English ancestors.

John Pierson has Welsh ancestors.

born in New Zealand

John Pierson lived in Hokitika, West Coast, New Zealand.

Birth

John Victor Pierson was born 29 Mar 1933 in Greymouth, West Coast, New Zealand, son of Victor Augustus Pierson (1907 - 1991) and Alice May (McQuilkin) Pierson (1911 - 2003). The birth was prolonged and difficult for mother and son. Eventually a caesarian sction was done.

John's siblings were:

1. Neville Matthew Pierson (1936 - 2012)
2. Marilyn Clare Pierson (1941 - living)
3. Patrick James Pierson (1944 - 2019)

Marriages

John (~25) married Marcia Mina Lord (~19) (1939 - 2001) in 1958 in Hokitika, Westland, New Zealand. Their children were:

1. Terence John Pierson (1959 - living)
2. Marcia Claire (Pierson) McQuilken (1961 - living)
3. Michael Heyden Pierson (1964 - living)
4. Jeanne Marie (Pierson) Heyward (1967 - living)
5. Margaret Louise Pierson (1968 - living).

John married Glennis Faye Smith (1951 - living) in St Chads Church, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.

John died in Christchurch Hospital Coronary Care Unit having had surgery to remove a lung. 11 Jun 2004 in Christchurch aged 71.

Burial Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. ^[1]

Eulogy for John Pierson written and delivered at his funeral in St Teresa's Church, Riccarton, Christchurch, by his eldest son, Terry Pierson
Thank you all for coming and joining with our family at this terribly difficult time as we draw together to farewell this most extraordinary and exceptional man, John Pierson. We have, as a family agreed that this eulogy will not speak of, or dwell on his life and times by a typical chronology of events and associations. We believe that approach would miss the point entirely and do him a profound injustice. It is enough to note briefly, however, that John was born as a fourth generation West Coaster in Greymouth and grew up in Whataroa until he was seven years old and from then on in Hokitika. He boarded at St Bede's College after spending some time in the Holy Name Minor Seminary (age 13 years). John left the Coast in his early 20s and raised a family of five children. He spent 50 odd years working as an accountant in various roles with various companies. His last 27 years were with his wife, Glennis who loved him more than life.

Instead, we want to concentrate on the qualities which made John, in our eyes, the best of all men. Those who knew him, as we knew him, will understand why we believe that this is true and those who did not will gain insight into the nature of his character which is relevant and meaningful. To articulate John's qualities involves developing several key themes. The first, his understanding of and capacity for compassion. Father Bernard O'Brien SJ, one of the country's greatest scholars would, as an octogenarian, ride his bicycle from Holy Name Seminary in the evenings to visit Dad. I am mentioning him at this point because the Jesuits have, some would say, an unparalled intellectual grasp on the concept of unconditional love. He saw the quality of compassion in the young man he knew from the seminary. We also knew his compassion from our own experiences. We also knew of his compassion from our own experiences. We all have memories of coming home to find a succession of destitutes, drug addicts, pregnant unwed mothers, children cast out of their homes, the crest fallen and the heart broken. Even hitch hikers who needed a bed. Whenever John saw a need, he would give whatever he had to help. Another example of John's capacity for compassion was his ability to always be available, regardless of his circumstances, to absorb news of our calamities and heart breaks, failures and fears and to provide a perspective which mitigated the worry, like a loving parent, soothing a child who has just experienced a nightmare and has called out to dad in the night. But more than that, he would know how to reduce these burdens; a part of them would transfer from us to him. It would have been unthinkable for his compassion to be anything less than unconditional. His compassion particularly extended to children. He understood their sensitivities which meant that he had a rare capacity to understand and respect children as individuals. Because he was compassionate, even when wronged, he would forgive. He was a man capable of doing anything even for his worst enemy.

For those who knew him, John was the least selfish of all men. His generosity of spirit was reflected in the stark relationship between what he did and what he had. What he did was work (at work and at home) unceasingly regardless of his own personal circumstances, particularly his health in recent years. In that regard it was staggering to see how he could maintain his momentum. On the other hand what he had, in a material sense, was very little. Not because he did not have the ability to accumulate, but because of a compulsion to give. He gave all his life to an extent that was, as we who were concerned for his welfare observed, at times quite frightening. Yet there was no other option for him and he could not understand at an emotional or intellectual level what drove others to behave selfishly. He was just not interested in materiality. He was a giver in a world where taking, in all its justifications, was an art form. Selfishness was alien to him, it was repugnant and despicable. We knew that John was better than us for this reason alone.

To those of us who knew him, he was man of staggering intelligence. Father O'Brien knew that and so did anyone else who knew him. It was the clarity of his perspective and understanding that he brought to issues (politics, history, music, world affairs) that means that his insights will stay with those with whom he shared them for all the days of their lives. Every year they became more relevant, more meaningful, more remarkable. He had an unmatched ability to take us to the truth without resorting to mantras or dogmas, even though he understood them all. Well, the truths that are axiomatic. The self-evident truths which are truly important and that impact on our lives in the most fundamental way.

There are none of us who knew him who doubt that, regardless of religious inclination, our humanity demands that we recognise that all human life is sacred and so it follows that the rights of life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness are indeed inalienable, that we are all individuals from conception and we must love the children. So you see, John had the capacity to help us to see what matters and what does not matter. Even if we were not able to apply that knowledge - at least we were given the opportunity. He could have been anything he wanted to be, but was not prepared to compromise his principles, despite the enticement of the learning. He was a man who did not have his price.

John was a modest and humble man who never spoke of his accomplishments or capabilities or what he had given or who he had helped. He was a man of unimpeachable integrity and complete honesty. He respected those who deserved respect and understood and taught us the meaning of integrity and honesty and helped us to understand that it was part of life's struggle to fall short in these areas, but to continue striving. John helped us to understand that the acknowledgement of values and standards and the failure to meet them are the antithesis of hypocrisy. He was conservative by nature and liberal by inclination. Conserve the good and allow people to be individuals.

John was the funniest guy we knew. His sense of humour was always in the zone. He could make us cry with laughter and he even retained his sense of humour in the dark hours of his last days with us.

With John's passing, we are left with an irreplaceable loss - a dislocation in our lives which is so great that it takes us to the verge of despair. But we are left with much more than memories. We are left with the understanding that in his absence we, who remain, will need to develop the same qualities because the people for whom we care will be diminished unless we do. This is at once the best of all challenges and the best of all legacies which could be left to us. The truth is that John will live on only if we aspire to emulate the essential qualities of this man who was the best of all men to those amongst us who knew him.

If I may be allowed a personal observation, Dad would give himself no credit in his performance as a father. For me, if I lived 10,000 lifetimes, I know that I could not have had a better father or a better relationship with a father. I am sure that my siblings feel the same, as does Glennis, when she thinks of her husband. So, I say, "Goodbye, Dad and thank you. It would be impossible to love someone more that I loved you."

Memories

A few of CLARE'S memories of her eldest brother, John: The first-born son of Alice and Vic Pierson, John had a prolonged birth which ended in being a caesarean and leaving him with some brain injury which affected his in different ways at various stages of his life. He and Alice, Mum, were exceptionally emotionally close and because suffered from anxiety, he picked this up as a little boy and when he left home so young, at 12 years of age he was terribly homesick at both the Minor Seminary and St Bede's College. He was a very spiritual young man and we understood that of each other though did not speak about it – we just knew. When I was in my early teens he gave me a Daily Missal. Because John was away from home most of the time from when I was 4 years old until I was about 8 or 9 years, he then started working, had well as compulsory military training, and I went to Boarding School at age 15 then left home at 17 years, I did not have as much time with him as my other two brothers, but we were close. Occasionally when I was at primary School John and Neville would play tricks on me and once told me to go to school and tell Sister that I was intoxicated by the exuberance of my own verbosity! They liked to tease as brothers do and had names such as the "Wreck of the Hesperus" and "Sarah Soviesky" for me.

When I wanted advice about clothing I always knew that Dad and John had impeccable taste. Mum did too, but was more cautions to ensure that what I had would wear well and last a long time more than look the best. John wrote long, brotherly caring letters to me, telling me how he was doing, after I left home and said that he "needed a sister". He was always a gentleman, but he and his young male friends enjoyed behaving hilariously in public at times. His conscientiousness in working at as a postman was inspirational. He had his colleagues worked late into the night and at weekends to ensure that every postal object was delivered each day and especially in time for Easter and Christmas. When an envelope had only the name and Hokitika on it, he would always do everything possible to find out where the person lived and deliver that mail. Because there were some huge and vicious dogs along their routes, posties carries rolled up newspapers so that they could use them to make the dogs go away.

When Jim Fairlie wanted to establish a fruit and vegetable market in Hokitika he asked John how to go about it and John helped him get started. On Good Friday, 1955 Jim and John were going to Christchurch in Jim's red Jaguar to buy fruit and vegetables at the market. Pat was in the Sanatorium over there so I went with them to visit my younger brother. The Arthur's pass unsealed road had a light covering of snow with some icy patches on the way road across the Pass. Jim decided to stop on the uphill slope at the waterfall that splashed over the road in those days. As Jim and John stood on the edge of the road which had no barriers at all, looking down into the gorge, the car began to slide backwards – the wheels having stopped on an icy board and stones. I yelled out to them and somehow both picked up large stones to wedge under the back wheels and we continued on our way.

After he started working, John had the sleep out at the back of the house and he used to pay me to do the cleaning and iron his clothes which gave me a considerable sum of pocket money that I otherwise would not have had. It also gave me insights into the lives of young men of the time with their poker and other gambling games such as Crown and Anchor and the kinds of magazines they read.

Later in life, when I had more freedom and John was living in Christchurch after being away for years with his family, I was able to visit him and the family at home and later when he was married to Glennis. Those times are precious memories. John agonised about retiring and wondered what he would do. He soon filled his days with doing the work around the house and preparing meals as Glennis was working. I recall how he was climbing a ladder and painting the beams and ceiling in their lovely house in Mecca Place. His hands were crippled with gout, but not a whimper about the pain. We did not know it at the time, but he also had cancer in one lung and was having difficulty breathing, but he was intent on doing the job with a smile and doing it well.

Sadly John died in Christchurch Hospital after his lung surgery and his chest cavity becoming infected, at only 71 years of age and he is greatly missed.

Name: John Victor Pierson. Given Name: John Victor. Surname: Pierson. Married Name: Pierson.

Died Y. 11 JUN 2004. Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. Age: 71. Cause: Lung Cancer Septicemia.

Buried Memorial Park Cemetery Bromley Christchurch.

Sources

1. ↑ Billion Graves: John Victor Pierson Birth: Mar 29 1933; Death: June 11 2004; Burial: Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. He was the son of Vic Pierson and Alice McQuilkin. Photograph taken and inscription made by John's sisterClare Pierson

Family Trees

• FamilySearch Family Tree: John Victor Pierson; Gender: Male; Birth: Mar 29 1933 - Greymouth, West Coast, New Zealand; Death: June 11 2004 - Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand; Parents: Victor Augustus Pierson; Alice May Pierson (born McQuilkin); Wife: Marcia Mina Pierson (born Lord); Siblings: Patrick James Pierson; Marilyn Clare Pierson; Neville Matthew Pierson; Event: Record Role: 40001:1749859456.