Ruth Pierson

Ruth Pierson, 71, went to be with her Lord on December 19, 2013. Ruth was born in 1942 in Chicago Heights, IL, to Clarence and Effie Meyering. Her mother died in 1948, with Ruth going to Holland, MI, where she was raised by her sister, Mary Johnson. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior at age 9; and later joined the Holland Central Wesleyan Church. Ruth graduated from Holland High School and the Butterworth Hospital School of Nursing. In 1967, she followed her calling to become a missionary nurse, at Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital, Sierra Leone, W. Africa. Ruth married Charles Pierson in 1972, and together they served in Kamakwie, where they raised three sons. When the Piersons moved to Berrien Springs in 1989, Ruth became active in the Berrien Center Bible Church and Bible Study Fellowship. She returned multiple times to Sierra Leone, until prevented by the progression of ovarian cancer. Ruth is survived by her husband Chuck, sons David, Mark (Michelle), and Steven (Kandi) Pierson, four grandchildren, sisters Jennie (Joseph) Hoch, and Esther (Clyde) Tilton, brothers Chet, Don (Ruth), and Paul (Charlene) Meyering. Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Mary Johnson, Grace Asher, Harriet Annuiziata, and brother Harvey Meyering. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:00 A.M. Friday, January 3, 2014 at Berrien Center Bible Church, 8830 M-140, Berrien Center, MI with Pastors Maynard Schoen Mark Smith officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery in Berrien Springs. Friends may visit from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Thursday at Heritage Chapel & Cremation Services, 8747 US 31 Berrien Springs. Memorials may be made the Ruth Pierson Memorial Fund, c/o Wesleyan Investment Foundation Community Education Development Initiative Fund, PO Box 7250, Fishers, IN. 46037. Those wishing to share a memory of Ruth may do so online at www.heritage-chapel.com.