Barbara Ruth Pierce was born Barbara Ruth Nievar on March 25, 1934 to George Lewis Nievar and Rosa Ann Manigold Nievar in Oklahoma City, OK. She was called Barb by friends and Sandy by her sisters. They all called each other Sandy, even when they were talking to each other at once in the same room, and only the four of them knew who was speaking to whom. Barbara married Nolan Pierce on December 22, 1951, in Anadarko, OK. He remained the love of her life until she died in Muskogee, Oklahoma on September 16, 2018. She lived in Apache, Oklahoma City, Anadarko, and Enid, Oklahoma. She and her husband then moved to Berryville, then Russellville, Arkansas where he served in the ministry. Barbara managed to raise three children and achieve Magna Cum Laude status while earning her Bachelor of Science Degree at Arkansas Tech in Russellville. They moved to Slaton, Texas, Broken Bow and Minden, Nebraska. She continued to enjoy learning and earned an endorsement to teach students with specific learning disabilities. During these years she taught school, and had the unique experience of teaching in 2-room schoolhouses in Weissert and Naponee, Nebraska. While she and her husband lived in Minden, Barbara finally pursued her own life-long dream of going into the ministry. The family moved to Garber to support this effort. She attained a Master of Divinity degree from Phillips Theological Seminary in 1989. She was ordained into ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on May 7, 1989 at First Christian Church in Red Rock, Oklahoma. After ordination, she served with her husband in shared ministry at Hobart, Oklahoma, Oberlin, Kansas, McCook, Nebraska, and Herndon, Kansas. She also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. She supported numerous environmental and human rights organizations. Barbara had the gift of music, which she shared with the church and broader community through singing and playing the violin. She also directed numerous musical presentations, including Amahl and the Night Visitors, A Christmas Carol, and Down by the Creek Bank. Barbara and Nolan both retired from the ministry in 2004 and moved to Cozad, Nebraska. They responded to another call from the church and established a house church in Cozad, which they served until 2014, when they actually retired and moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma. In Muskogee, they attended the Presbyterian Church of Muskogee.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Louis, Jack, Jimmy. Billy, Teddy, and Kenneth, and her sister Lillian. She is survived by her husband, Nolan, of Muskogee, and her three children, Larry of Estes Park, CO, Bonnie of Muskogee, OK, and Harvey of Cozad, NE. She is also survived by two sisters, Leona Freese and Vera Jones of Oklahoma City and by eight grandchildren, Jessica Hirsch of Thorton, CO, Janee Austin of Edmond. OK, Joshua Pierce of Kearney, NE, Sara Haake of Lincoln, NE, Kayla Wills and Justin McCorkle of Cozad, NE, Aaron Pierce of Elkhorn, NE, and Regina Pierce of Denver, CO. She is survived also by 13 great grandchildren and one on the way. She has numerous living nieces and nephews, whom she loved dearly. Loving family was a specialty of hers, and she will be long-remembered for her passionate and kind support of many family members and friends.
A memorial service will be held at a later date in Muskogee for family and friends.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5