Scott Pierce died at his home in Yarmouth, Maine on May 7, 2022, at the age of 91. He wanted it to be noted that the New York Mets were in first place at the time.
He grew up in Rye, N.Y. and spent his formative years at the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., where his love of competitive sports, especially those requiring a bat, a club, or a racquet, blossomed. He was co-founder of the locally famous Ellsworth Vines golf and tennis tournament, and he often asserted that he never lost in ping-pong.
Soon after graduating from Miami of Ohio University in 1954, he married his childhood sweetheart, Janice Chamberlaine, at Rye Presbyterian Church. The couple happily raised their family in Rye.
Mr. Pierce began his Wall Street career in the nascent municipal bond business. After leading municipal bond departments at three large firms for over thirty years, he became President of EF Hutton, and, in his final professional role, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Asset Management Company.
Upon retirement, Mr. Pierce dedicated himself to worthy causes, among them chairing the board of trustees at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. for eight years. He also served as a governor at Manursing Island Club and as an elder at Rye Presbyterian Church.
His favorite pastimes in Rye were crooning with a glee club, a skill he honed at door-to-door caroling parties with the Bratches and Blumenthal families, and thumping up to a paddle tennis net behind his vicious, two-wire lefty serve. In his prime, he was a two-tool first baseman for the Davis Brothers Flyers.
Whether he was running a board meeting or a Sunday School class, he led with kindness, empathy, integrity, and the same haircut.
“Our family feels blessed to have had Uncle Scott in our lives for so long,” said his niece Peggy Peters, also a longtime Rye resident. “He went to our children’s games and graduations. We shared so many memorable holiday meals and special occasions.”
In 2012, after spending most of his life in Rye, the Milton School alum and his wife moved and split their time between homes in Amelia Island, Florida, and Yarmouth.
Scott Pierce took enormous pride in the relationship he enjoyed with his wife of 68 years, Janice Pierce, his best companion since eighth grade, and the family they created together in Rye. He is survived by his four children and their spouses: Kent (Kristen), Kim (Marty Brix), Brett (Kerry Michaels), and Derek (Anja Hanson); as well as ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.