[1] He was a 1916 graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he was nicknamed "Monk" and was a stand-out athlete in football, basketball, baseball and tennis.
Pauline was killed at age 53 in a September 1949 automotive accident when Marvin, the driver, hit a tree in Harrison, Westchester County, New York.
Pierce's second marriage (June 1952) was to Willa Gray Martin (1911–2006) (who died during his grandson's presidency), an artist and Associated Press reporter.
Pierce died on July 17, 1969, in Rye, New York, at the age of 76 and was interred at Greenwood Union Cemetery.
He was preceded in death by his granddaughter Pauline Robinson Bush in October 1953.