Carolyn Hicks Pierce

Nov 22, 1925 - Jun 18, 2017

Carolyn passed away surrounded by family on June 18, 2017. She is survived by her children, daughters Kathleen Woodard and Charlotte Pierce, son Donald Pierce, daughter-in-law Alexandra O. Pierce, and grandsons Michael Woodard and John D. Pierce. Carolyn was widowed for ten years, after 55 years of marriage to John A. Pierce. Carolyn was predeceased by her older sister Jane Harriet West and is survived by her younger sister Marjorie Krall.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the second of three daughters of John D. and Lucile C. Hicks, Carolyn spent most of her early childhood in Nebraska and Wisconsin before moving to California with her family in 1943. She attended Anna Heads high school for women, the University of Wisconsin, Mills College in Oakland and graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts with a bachelor of fine arts degree in Art History.

Carolyn met her husband, John, after being set up on a blind date by mutual friends. After a brief courtship, John and Carolyn were married on November 15, 1952. Carolyn devoted her life to her husband and family, raising three children in the Bay Area while spending summer vacations with her family at the family’s vacation property in Dutch Flat, located in California’s Sierra foothills. Carolyn was very artistic which was exemplified in her elegant but classic personal style and her love for ikebana (kado) flower arranging. She had a passion for gardening which she shared with her husband. She was active in various organizations including the Berkeley Hillside Club, Berkeley Clinic Auxiliary, Berkeley Garden Club, Dutch Flat Golden Drift Historical Society, and the PEO Sisterhood.

In respect of her wishes, there will be no memorial service. Donations can be made in Carolyn’s honor to the P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312; the Berkeley Clinic Auxiliary, 10052 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530; or the Golden Drift Historical Society, PO Box 253, Dutch Flat, CA 95714.