- Date Of Birth: August 6, 1923
- Date Of Death: January 5, 2023
- State: Mississippi
Marian Evelyn Pierson, of Gautier, MS, passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, January 5, 2023. Marian was born on August 6, 1923 in Alexandria, VA. to Irvin James Ketland and Willie Catherine Ross Ketland. She graduated from George Washington High School in Alexandria and attended Strayer School of Business in Washington, DC. In 1947, she married Don Earl Pierson, a U.S. Army officer, and lived in a number of different places in the United States and western Europe throughout her life.
Marian believed in giving of her time and her talent. She was a lifelong volunteer working in the neo-natal intensive care unit at the hospital at Patrick Air Force Base, FL, managing the church nurseries in a number of towns where she lived and also serving as a Boy Scout, Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader while her children were growing up. She was also a member of the Martha Washington Chapter #42 of the Order of the Eastern Star in Alexandria, VA and the Civitans and Rotary Clubs in Gautier, MS.
Marian loved sports and gardening, but her real passion music. She sang in numerous church choirs, the most recent being the United Methodist Church in Gautier, MS, where she also served as president of the United Methodist Women’s organization.
Her life was focused on her family and friends, and the community she lived in. She had a strong faith and taught her children by example during a lifetime of giving and affection. She was preceded in death by her parents; Irvin and Willie Ketland, her husband Don Pierson, and her grandson, Zachary Pierson.
Marian is survived by her four children and their spouses; Nancy Gulczynski (Chet), Jim Pierson (Deirdre), Lee Pierson (Bambi) and Linda Strunk (Shawn); four loving grandchildren, Ian, Tyler, Kristy and Kelly; six great-grandchildren, Jeremy, Valerie, Charlotte, Ashlynn, Aralin and Jennie.
