Mr Pierce has been taking photos for 30+ years. He received his Bachelor of General Studies/Photography at Kent State University, and his MAEd. in Art Education at The University of Akron. He taught art at first, at one of the elementary schools in the Stow Munroe Falls School District. After a few years he moved up to the high school, and came to teach Digital Photography, Intermediate Photography, Honors and AP photography, Drawing, and Video Game Design.

Mr. Pierce is an avid runner, running many 5Ks, half and full marathons. Even more impressive is that he is an ultramarathoner; running 100 mile races.

Mr. Pierce has a very kind soul. He has helped his students prosper as artists, and as people. He has been a great help to all students that are in need of assistance. Whether it be on a project, or a student feeling down, he is always the first one to help.

Unfortunately, on Saturday, March 16th, Mr. Pierce was on a run with one of his friends. Without much warning, he had a heart attack and died before making it to the hospital.

The whole community around him loves him, and have rallied around his family. Many things came from this. Students and alumni have realized the true impact this amazing man has left on them without them even noticing. A scholarship fund has been established to send art students to school.

All in all, Mr. Pierce is an amazing teacher, father, and photographer, and he will be missed.

Mr. Pierce’s son, Riley Pierce, and I have been friends since preschool. We grew up together, and subsequently became best friends. Of course, growing up with Riley meant seeing and talking to Mr. Pierce a lot along the way. Riley showed me cross country, and when I ran, Mr. Pierce cheered not only for Riley, but for me. He has been an amazing support.

When I took his class freshman year, he made me fall in love with photography. I may not have made the best work when I was starting out, but he supported and critiqued me the whole way. When I broke my camera, he helped me out with time on my project. When I was creatively stuck, he always would sit and hear my suggestions. When I was having any sort of trouble, he would invest himself and help me, no matter what the issue was.

Eventually, I got a lot better with my photography, so he recommended me for his Honors Photography class. I came to be one of his unspoken favorites,  and I absolutely love the class. He inspired so many projects. He introduced me to Hollywood portraiture, and to tilt shift photography. I have been in love with these styles since.

One of the last conversations I had with him was in his classroom, the day before. He called me over and asked about my project. Then he began asking about my dad. He learned from his son that my dad had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and has been going through chemo. I had talked to him about it before, and he was checking up on my dad and I. I reassured him that we were fine, and wished him a good weekend. He did the same.

Mr. Pierce is a wonderful man. He is larger than life, and at the time of writing this, it doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t seem that someone this important, and someone this genuinely good, could just simply leave the way he did. His family loves him so much, his friends love him so much, his classes love him so much, the school loves him so much, and the community loves him so much.

He is the person I most respect. He has the largest heart ever. He is so passionate about his work, and his art. He cares for his students, no matter what the issue is. He is a kind soul, and I love all of that about him.

There is definitely more that can be said, but I’m running out of room, and I would like to finish with a quick statement. Mr. Pierce is a great man that left way too soon. I send my condolences to Riley, and Mrs. Pierce and all of his extended family and friends. If any of you are reading this, just know that I am here for whatever you need, and I can be contacted via my phone or email on my Contact Me! page. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!