Dr. Bob Pierce

One of the things that reminds me I'm getting older is being reminded that my parents are getting older. They were in town last weekend for my dad's 50th high school reunion--he's part of the class of 1958 from Pasadena High School. In fairness to them, they don't seem nearly that old. He brought old photos from then, with some great slicked-up hair. Another one was a photo of my mom's 1959 Arcadia High School class. We were able to find her, so she hasn't aged much either, I guess. She pointed out some of her friends in the class, including Sharon Pierce. I'd heard her name before as someone she remembered fondly. I'd wondered, though, why they weren't in touch now.

Sharon Pierce's father, Dr. Bob Pierce, is indirectly responsible for my being in the estate planning and probate field. After a tour of impoverished parts of post-World War II Asia, he was determined to alleviate the suffering he saw there, and founded the World Vision charity to accomplish this in 1950. He was a dynamic man, and traveled the world looking for more people to help--his famous quote is "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." His truly was, and his work has today has reached tens of millions of people. My grandfather Lee Bernard was anxious to work with him and asked for a job--Pierce told him the only one available was as director of planned giving/estate planning, something Grandpa knew nothing about. Pierce was nothing if not dynamic and persuasive, and told him he'd be perfect for it. It probably helped that Pierce was a spiritual giant to him, much like Billy Graham, another man he'd worked for.

With a lot of early learning on the job, he indeed turned out to be perfect for it, left Kansas City for Arcadia in 1958, and stayed with World Vision until 1972, when he formed his company to do the same type of work on a freelance basis for charities. It was the family business until my parents retired from it. I had a difficult time figuring out what the business was about until I worked there in high school and college, but the family conversations and numerous charity banquets had their effect, as I didn't (and still don't) find any legal work more interesting than probate and trusts--whether families are fighting or harmonious, finding solutions is very satisfying work.

The discussion last weekend led me to look up more about World Vision's early days, and I came across a book written by Pierce's daughter Marilee, Man of Vision. It helped bring the man and his incredible work to life, but also dealt with the pain to his family by his being away from them so much doing that work. It led to the deterioration of his marriage, and his three daughters needing more love and approval from a father they didn't know very well. One of them, Sharon, took her life in 1968 after keeping much of her personal pain from her family. My mother has never talked about this part of her friend's life. A few days before he died in 1978, the Pierce family reunited for the last time with an open, honest, healing discussion to help heal their wounds. The reconciling came too late for Sharon. It didn't for the rest of the family, and is a further inspiration for other hurting and broken families--I see hurting and broken families every day.