Cheryl Ann Pierce, 65

On March 3, 2010, while in Phoenix, Ariz., Cheryl Ann Pierce, 65, went to be with her parents and Jesus in heaven. She was born on July 23, 1944, to Chuck and Lois Byers in Seattle, as Gramps was working in the shipyards for World War II. After the war, the family moved back to the Flathead Valley, where she remained her entire life. Cheryl attended St. Matthew s grade school and graduated from Flathead High, where she met Dale Pierce in 1958, and they have been together ever since. They were married on Jan. 26, 1963, and this union gave them a son, Chuck, and a daughter, Rita. Cheryl was always a very exacting housewife and mother, providing everything that was ever needed, all of the time. As the children grew older and went off to school, she used her business education to be the secretary at Peterson School until 1974, when she and Dale bought Montgomery s Welding on Center Street. This became Pierce Welding Unlimited, and then Pierce Manufacturing Company. Since then, she used her warm personality to greet customers and her business education to help him run the business. Cheryl was an unselfish individual, always giving a lot and never asking for much. She enjoyed her years as a 4-H leader with the Golden Spurs 4-H club, which led to the beginning of her many years of taking Rita thousands of miles to horse shows throughout the northwest. She especially enjoyed helping all of the kids with their fair projects, and this allowed her to work the betting windows at the horse races, as she liked people so much. She also used some of her many talents for her own ceramic projects, which usually came home with a blue ribbon. Summers in the Flathead Valley brought her to many rod runs and drag races with Dale, plus many Sundays at the motocross tracks, first to support Dale, and later with her son, Chuck, and then her nephew, Rick. She immensely enjoyed the outdoors, whether it was camping, fly fishing and picking huckleberries, or summers at her parents home on Bitterroot Lake, boating and swimming, or sometimes just floating on an inner tube. When fall came, she loved to hunt and she passed along the tradition to both of her children. She was also the only one in the family to ever shoot an elk. As the years went by, she loved Going South for the winter in the motor home with Dale and her two cats, so they could enjoy the sunshine, the swimming pool and time with just each other. Cheryl had many hobbies and was a very talented woman. She loved collecting antiques, especially Red Wing stoneware. Their home in Kalispell is a personal creation of hers, and this can be seen outside with how detailed her flowerbeds were maintained, as well as their home s immaculate interior. Her father passed along to her quite a knack when it came to woodworking. This ability to make patterns, cut out various objects and build things enabled her and Rita to embark on another adventure, the craft shows! Cheryl is survived by her husband of 47 years, Dale; her son Chuck and wife, Tina; her daughter Rita and husband Scott; and grandsons, Kyle Pierce and Zach Sanders. Also, her nephew, Rick Carlon and family; niece, Tina Colby and family; as well as many relatives and great friends that she touched while she was with us. She will be greatly missed by many, but we know that she is at peace and free from pain. At Cheryl s request, there will be no service and the family will distribute her ashes as she wished. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Cheryl s family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and view Cheryl s tribute wall.