BESSIE L. PIERCE

CHARLESTON -- Bessie Louise Pierce, 60, of Charleston died Friday, Oct. 25, 1996, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston.

She was born Jan. 14, 1936, in the Deventer Community, daughter of Walter and Mamie Housman. On May 29, 1952, she married Everett Pierce.

Pierce lived in Mississippi County her entire life and was of the Independent Pentecostal faith.

Survivors include her husband; three sons, Philip E. Pierce Sr. and Jerry L. Pierce, both of Erin, Tenn., and Blake A. Pierce of Sikeston; a daughter, Mary Warren of Diehlstadt; a sister, Martha Coker of Olive Branch, Ill.; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a brother and sister.

The funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m. today at the Shelby Funeral Home in Charleston, with Philip E. Pierce Sr. officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery near Charleston.