Glenn Ivan Pierce

Glenn Ivan Pierce, Jr., 88, passed away peacefully on September 5, 2024 in Frederick, Maryland. 

He was born in Monterey, California on April 17, 1936 to Edith Isabelle Del Conte and Glenn Ivan Pierce, Sr., and was also welcomed home by his elder sister, Nancy Jane. His father’s work and roots brought the family to Indiana, but he returned to California with his mother and sister after his father’s untimely death. 

As a boy, Glenn delivered newspapers on his bike and enjoyed singing in a chorus and spending time in nature. He often visited his Uncle Lloyd’s cabin in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. He graduated from San Jose’s Abraham Lincoln High School in 1954, where he was class president, and co-captain of the football team- a role he proudly shared with his friend, Doug Baer. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he initially trained as a pilot, but due to a minor visual impairment incurred from a solar eclipse, he instead became an intelligence officer. He served for 10 years, aboard aircraft carriers in the Far East for the majority of that time; and was periodically stationed at Miramar, Lemoore, and Alameda Naval Air Stations in California during his returns to the USA. His final Naval rank was Commander.  

Glenn continued to serve his country in the U.S. Navy Reserves during his studies and beyond obtaining his Masters of Business Administration at Syracuse University. Although he had started a career as a stockbroker in Palo Alto, CA, he longed for the adventure of international travel that he had so enjoyed while in the Navy, and decided to pursue a path of civil service in international affairs through the Pentagon. His passion to participate in the global world, combined with his training and skills, led him to join the U.S. Mission to NATO in Belgium. He and his family moved to a Flemish farming village, a short commute from NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he served for six years. Upon completion, he returned to Washington, D.C. as a NATO Affairs Advisor in the office of the Secretary of Defense. Shortly after, he was posted as Director of Defense at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France.  

After retiring as a diplomat, he worked as a financial advisor through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. During his retirement in France, he taught English to French students. He enjoyed languages and learned to speak at least seven of them during his life. In his free time, Glenn loved fly fishing for stream trout, sometimes in Normandy, and especially, at Yosemite National Park. His studies of ornithology while at Berkeley stayed with him lifelong. He continued to marvel at birds and kept a good pair of binoculars with him most often. He enjoyed cooking and focused his attention on perfecting his own recipes. He maintained a lovely garden; solved crossword puzzles daily, and could build or fix just about anything. His love for music and culture was always apparent. Germany became his favorite country to visit, second to Japan.  

He survived a stroke in his early 70’s, and although he lost many of his abilities, he endured and adapted and continued to enjoy life. Toward the end of his lifetime, at the age of 85, he decided that one more international move was all he wanted, so that he could be near his two daughters, Stephanie and Elizabeth, and to enjoy his final years in his motherland. His inurnment will be at Arlington National Cemetery. If you would like to make a contribution honoring the memory of Glenn, please consider a donation to Bird Life International at birdlife.org/donate and from the USA, via Friends of Bird Life International, through the same link.