Daniel Pierce

Dan Pierce spent nearly all of his working life in
service to others — first to his country, then to
those in need, always with quiet faithfulness and
genuine care.

After four years in the Coast Guard during the
Vietnam era, Dan earned his pilot's license and
served as a firefighter before joining the Army in
the early 1970s. Over the next two decades, he gave
himself completely to military life. He supported
field artillery units, was stationed in Germany for
four years — where his son David was born — and
served at Fort Belvoir and Fort Lewis. He took on
assignments to Jamaica and Okinawa, spent weeks in
the field with his unit, and completed a demanding
fifteen-month deployment to Turkey as a Scout
leader, mentoring young men even while
serving his country.

Later in his Army career, Dan transitioned to
electrical engineering work with FESA, broadening
his contribution to the mission. Near the end of his
active duty, he enrolled at George Mason University
and graduated in 1993 with a degree in Social Work —
a fitting capstone to a military career, shifting
his focus from defending the nation to caring for
its people. He continued his education at Virginia
Commonwealth University and spent many years working
as a social worker in Maryland, helping those who
were vulnerable and overlooked.
Before retirement, Dan worked at Costco, where he
brought the same integrity and service ethic he had
shown throughout his life.

Dan loved his family deeply — his wife, his
children, and especially his granddaughters Nina and
Jessica.
He cherished his faith, the military, the
Boy Scouts, travel, and the simple joy of a hot dog
shared with people he cared about.

He was a man who answered the call. In uniform and
out of it, in the field and in social service
offices, Dan Pierce showed what it means to spend
your life in service of something greater than yourself.