Robert Clarence Pierson

Robert Clarence Pierson, Jr. 1924-2021
Robert (Bob) Clarence Pierson, Jr. a former resident of Weston, died October 23, 2021. He was born on March 30, 1924, at Blue Knob in Clay County West Virginia.to the late Robert Clarence Pierson and Virgie Mae Pierson of Clay West Virginia.
Bob was married to his wife Connie Wellen on November 23, 1947. She preceded him in death on December 7, 2019. He is survived by his two children and their spouses Patricia Ferrebee (Mack) of Waterford, Ohio, and Robert C. Pierson III (Vicki) of Walkersville, West Virginia. He is also survived by his brother, William (Bill) David Pierson of Clay, West Virginia.
Bob has four grandchildren, Patricia’s children- Wayne Ferrebee of New York, New York, and Caroline Miller (Andy) of Columbia, Maryland and Robert’s children, Rachel Young (Steve) of Ann Arbor, Michigan with three great grandchildren- Ike, Jay and Robby and Julia Serynek (Matt) of Tampa, Florida with two great grandchildren- Cole and Keogh.
Bob graduated from Clay County High School in Clay, West Virginia in 1941. He was the valedictorian of his class. Following graduation, he attended West Virginia University until called to active duty in the United States Army during World War II. The army assigned him to the Office of Strategic Services and after completing training at Stanford University in Foreign Area and Language Studies he was assigned to various missions in both the European and Pacific theaters throughout the duration of the war. He was released from active duty and OSS in September 1945 whereupon he returned to West Virginia University where he earned a B. S. in Journalism in 1947. Following graduation, he joined the United States Department of State where he served in many foreign missions in Africa and Asia including Vietnam.
Bob traveled extensively as both a soldier and United States Foreign Services officer, living outside the United States for many years and when possible, taking his family with him. He loved to travel, and he entertained us all with stories about the places he had been and the things he had done. In 1963 he left the United States government and returned to Clay, West Virginia. He remained in Clay where he was active in local politics until 1967 when he returned to the United Stated government and worked in Vietnam and Southeast Asia where he assisted the U. S. effort in Vietnam.
He retired from the U. S. Government in 1974. Following his retirement, he and his wife Connie traveled to Asia on a freighter- literally the “slow boat to China,” during which they visited many of the places where they had been earlier in his career. On retirement he became interested in restoring old houses and he and Connie completed two restorations on row houses in Baltimore, Maryland before moving to their house in Weston where they lived for 15 years.
Bob enjoyed life to the fullest and was a great source of entertainment to his family and friends. He liked to hunt and loved nature with all its complexity. He was always interested in new ideas and interesting people. He will be missed by all.
Services will be held at the Wilson-Smith funeral Home in Clay, West Virginia at 1:00 on November 4, 2021. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 5-7 pm on November 3, 2021.

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