Charles Pierce
New London — Charles Patrick Pierce, husband of Betsy Pierce, passed away March 14, 2021. He was born in Brunswick, Maine, Nov. 9, 1940, and was the son of the late Mary Maguire Pierce and Francis D. Pierce Sr.
“Chick” or “Chickie,” as he was fondly known to his family and classmates, was an outstanding athlete, excelling in baseball, football and basketball throughout his school years. Upon graduation, he moved to Groton to join his father and brother as an employee of Electric Boat, where he proudly worked for 55 years with an unmatched dedication. He started his career as a pipefitter on the USS Nautilus build, became a supervisor, keenly and quickly learning all aspects of submarines and submarine construction. He was selected to join the materials department and to train others on reading drawings. His aptitude for organization, planning and timeliness of submarine construction led him to a position of developing detailed flowcharts, and he was one of the developers of the JCAL database system, which is still used today at Electric Boat. He ended his impressive career as a member of the information technology department.
Charlie’s love of sports continued throughout his entire life. In addition to being a member of the EBAC baseball team, and an avid watcher of all sports, he was a professional archer. He won many indoor and outdoor archery tournaments, traveling throughout Connecticut and neighboring states. He was known as an impressive and formidable contender named “the Pink Panther.” He could often be seen practicing shooting archery in his yard, and people would watch in awe as he quietly and expertly grouped his arrows tightly in the bullseye, sometimes splitting arrows, as they hit the target so closely together. The Pink Panther was featured on the cover of the Norwich Bulletin’s Parade Magazine, and he was cheered on at a local fair, shooting archery nonstop for 24 hours in a demonstration to promote the sport. During his retirement, Charlie enjoyed watching his beloved UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams, and expertly coaching all sports from his home.
In addition to his loving wife, Betsy, Charlie is survived by his four children, Donna Pierce Cipolla (husband Anthony) of St. Simons Island, Ga.; Karen Pierce Coleman (husband Thomas) of North Stonington; Bryce Snarski-Pierce of Groton; and Kyle Pierce of Mystic. He is also survived by Kayla, Elizabeth and Carlee, who fondly named him their “Charlie Brown.” Additionally, he is survived by his five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; his sister Linda Pierce Descheneaux of Florida; and brother John Pierce of Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his stepchildren, Kimberlee and Stephen; and his brother Francis “Bump” Pierce Jr.
We are saddened by the loss of our Charles Patrick Pierce, and further saddened that he was not able to celebrate his St. Patrick’s Day wedding anniversary with his wonderful wife, Betsy. Éirinn go Brách, “Ireland till the end of time.”
The immediate family is having a private service and gathering and want to thank all for their thoughts and prayers. Please visit www. byles.com to share a memory or condolence with the family.