Obituary of Edwin Patterson Pierce Jr.

Dr. Edwin Patterson Pierce, Jr. passed away peacefully on July 19, 2023 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was born in Mobile, Alabama on October 9, 1934. Following his graduation from Murphy High School in Mobile, Ed (or Pat as he was known growing up) enrolled in Spring Hill College, a Jesuit school in Mobile. He graduated with a degree in Physics with the Class of 1955 and then joined the Army for a two-year service. He was first stationed at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey where he was a Second Lieutenant and an Electronic Warfare Officer. He then was stationed at Ft. Huachuca in Southern Arizona.

Following his military service, Ed moved up the road to Tucson and spent a brief time working for RCA Electronics. At that time, he was extremely fortunate to meet Patricia Anne Perry from Quincy, Massachusetts, who lived in the same apartment complex. They married on May 30, 1959 at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Tucson. Ed and Patricia had four children who were their pride and joy. Ed then worked for 30 years at Hughes Aircraft Company in Tucson as an electrical engineer. During this time, he took a part-time leave to go back to school to earn his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Arizona. For many years he taught a course in shortwave antenna theory in the U of A Engineering Department. Ed retired at 58 years of age to enjoy his many other life passions. He took up pottery, scuba diving and traveled extensively. His special interest was in ancient pottery and his travels to Turkey, Greece, Mexico and Peru were always focused on visiting museums. His den at home is absolutely filled wall-to-wall with books on pottery and his travels. He also enjoyed volunteering for the Department of Classics at the U of A.

Ed was preceded in death by his father Edwin P. Pierce, Sr. and his mother Teva J. Pierce, as well as his brother Jon P. Pierce and his sister Janet L. Roberts. He is survived by his sister Evalyn P. Ellis of Mobile AL, his wife of 64 years Patricia Anne Pierce of Tucson AZ as well as his four children, Page (Grace) Pierce, Pamela (Richard) Palmer, Paul (Chitra) Pierce and Patricia (Gary) Peterson and six grandchildren, Paloma, Mary, Regan, Ravi, Jack, and Ruhi. A funeral service will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church on July 27, 2023 at 9:30am. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his name to the University of Arizona College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at https://ece.engineering.arizona.edu/give-today.