Robert Gerald Pierce, 76, a former resident of Piney Flats, Tennessee, died Oct. 27, 2022, after an extended period of declining health.

Robert, also known as “Bobby” or “Bob,” was a true Baby Boomer. He was born June 19, 1946, in Bath, Maine, to Francis Leslie and Mildred Pratt Pierce, after Fran returned from World War II. Robert was the third of five children, growing up on the coasts of Maine and Florida. He helped out with the family businesses, including Pierce’s Cozy Cove Cottages and Pierce Marine Service, which his father started practically in their backyard in Five Islands, Maine, before moving the business to Boothbay Harbor.

Robert was a 1965 graduate of Gould Academy, Bethel, Maine, where he lettered in skiing and track, in addition to being on the executive council of the Outing Club and a member of the Audio-Visual Crew. He briefly attended the Cambridge School of Broadcasting in Boston before receiving a call to serve his country. It was a call he dutifully answered, serving in the U.S. Army as a military policeman and completing a tour of duty in Vietnam. In 1969, he was honorably discharged, having received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

In 1968, he married the former Clara Mae Hale, who predeceased him in 2012. The two were married for 43 years and lived in North Carolina, Maine and Florida before settling in East Tennessee to raise their four children. During his career, Robert worked for many years at Eastman Kodak Company and later owned a computer business. He was a skilled boatman and felt most at home on the water. He was of the Protestant faith.

Robert is survived by his children and their spouses: Cynthia Platillero and husband, Joe, Alicante, Spain; Jennifer Robin Skaggs and husband, Steven, Bluff City, Tennessee; Karen Lim and husband, Tanna, Brookhaven, Georgia; and Jonathan Pierce and wife, Anne, Kingsport, Tennessee. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren. Additional survivors include two brothers and sisters-in-law, Norman and Mary Pierce, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and David and Phyllis Pierce, Wells, Maine; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Betty and Michael McCray, Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Marjorie and Fred Langerman, Tiverton, Rhode Island; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given to Boothbay Harbor Waterfront Preservation, P.O. Box 55, Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538; to Five Islands Baptist Church, P.O. Box 384, Georgetown, Maine 04548; or to Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Northeast Tennessee Office, 2319 Browns Mill Road, Suite D6, Johnson City, TN 37604.

Funeral services for Robert G. Pierce will be conducted on Nov. 5, 2022 at 1 p.m. in the chapel of Oakley-Cook Funeral Home, Bristol, Tennessee, with the Rev. Scott Greene officiating. Burial will follow in the Gray Cemetery.