Edward William Pierce

.Edward William Pierce, age 79 years, of Neshanic Station, NJ, passed away on Saturday, July 13, 2019 in Foothill Acres Care Center, Hillsborough, NJ.

Born in New Brunswick, NJ, May 29, 1940, he was the son of the late Justin and Myrtle Mueller Pierce Billingsley.

Edward attended local East Millstone schools, and then enrolled at McDonough Boarding School in Maryland, graduating in 1958. McDonough was a military school, and Ed was a Color Sergeant and member of their cavalry. Ed served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. Ed worked with the school’s dairy cows and practiced Roman Riding with the horses.

Ed enrolled in Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, earning a B.S. in Business Agriculture in 1964. While at Colorado State, he belonged to the AGR fraternity and the United Christian Movement. He was afforded the opportunity to travel to Kenya, Syria, Italy, India, and England. While attending university, Ed participated in the fraternity rodeo, riding a bucking horse, and serving as a rodeo clown to distract the bull. Ed enjoyed hunting elk and traveling in the Rocky Mountains while going to college.

Ed took flying lessons at Princeton Airport and flew solo. After college, Ed worked at the Saint Regis Paper Company in New York City. He flew throughout the United States, developing packaging materials for commercial produce growers. Ed teamed up with his college friend, Don Signor, and another friend, and travelled to Brazil. Don had purchased 1000 acres in Brazil, and they drove through undeveloped Brazil, staying in the wilderness and even witnessed hunters chasing a large cat. They camped in a one room hut with a dirt floor. He and Don never returned to Brazil. Saint Regis closed in the late 1960’s, and Ed worked briefly for Mr. Orville Shurts at the feed store in Neshanic Station. He then started up a farming operation, raising Simmental cattle on Old York Road and Case Road in Somerset County, then to the family farm in Readington Township at the corner of Old York Road and Summer Road. The cows continue to reside at this corner in Readington Township. Ed also owned a ranch in Roseburg, Oregon which he sold in 2018.

Ed was a member of the Somerset County Board of Agriculture, serving as Secretary for several years. He was a member of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, the American Simmental Association, the Fullblood Simmental Fleckvieh Federation, and the Pierce-Arrow Society. In 2001, he and his wife went to Buffalo, NY to celebrate 100 years since the first Pierce-Arrow automobile was made. Ed’s great-grandfather, George Norman Pierce, had driven the first Pierce-Arrow at the World’s Fair. Interestingly, the Pierce-Arrow was the first official presidential automobile from 1909 through the 1920’s.

Ed is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Virginia Ochs Pierce, whom he joined in marriage on May 20, 1972 in the Three Bridges Reformed Church; his sister and brother-in-law, Maryann and Dave Coombs, of Lake Worth, FL; his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Marilyn and Ron DeFulvio of Kutztown, PA and Nancy Ochs and Bud Wissner of Virginia; his cousins Florence Flusher and her husband Martin of New York, NY, and Suzanne and Jerry Murphy of Honolulu, HI; the family of Tony and Ellie Leigh of Naples, FL; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 11 AM in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Interment will be in Three Bridges Cemetery, Three Bridges, NJ. Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 from 6-8 PM in the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to the NJ Farm Bureau, 168 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608.

Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information, or to send condolences.