Martha Charlene Hoskin Pierce

Martha Charlene (Gover Griffin Jenkins Pitts) Hoskin Pierce, 91 years 11 months and 12 days old, passed away peacefully with family members at her side in Salt Lake City, Utah. Charlene was born on October 4, 1930 at home in Wellsville Utah. She was the fourth of 11 children born to Joseph Jenkins Hoskin and Lucy Mabel Griffin. It always made her feel special to know that she was named after her two grandmothers, Martha Ann Gover and Charlotte Jenkins.

Raised on a farm with her ten siblings in their two-bedroom farmhouse, each child was assigned many chores on the farm and around the house, where they learned the value of hard work and responsibility. Charlene preferred working outdoors to indoors as was often muttered by her mother Lucy when she was nowhere to be found. Her dad said she was just the right size to tromp the hay after he and her two older brothers pitched it onto the wagon. Uniquely, her dislike of eating poultry stemmed from one such duty, which consisted of corralling headless chickens. Charlene used to tell people that her father was a natural farmer, gifted with the sense of what to plant and when and how to care for his crops. Other farmers in the region would often come to him for crop rotation advice. Charlene was in awe of her mother’s quickness and ability to feed 13 mouths 3 times daily; they never went hungry. What produce they didn’t eat fresh, Lucy canned for the winter. Charlene’s favorite was her mom’s pickles. Lucy baked eight loaves of bread and a huge pan of biscuits every other day. Food tasted so good, Charlene would tell her children, that if you didn’t sit up smart and get your share when it was served you might get left out. To the end of her life, she maintained that her favorite food was vine ripened tomatoes with salt or freshly picked corn on the cob with fresh churned butter.

Charlene graduated from South Cache High School in 1948 and went on to study at Utah State University (USU). She valued a university education and instilled this love and respect of education to each of her children. While attending USU, she worked as a waitress at the Bluebird Restaurant and later worked at Hill Field Airforce Base disassembling bombers (B-17 and B-29). She then moved to Seattle Washington to work for Boeing, assembling B-52’s.

She launched her telephone operator career while working for Rocky Mountain Bell in Idaho Falls. Charlene moved to Nevada and worked as a personal clerk at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), 65 miles outside of Las Vegas. She often spoke about the craziness of being seated on bleachers just 10 miles out to observe several atomic bomb tests, which resulted in her being a “Downwinder”. Other employers that Charlene enjoyed working for include Murdock Travel as a travel agent, as well as Little America, Weinstock’s and other companies as a telephone operator.

While working in Mercury at the NTS, her co-worker and friend Bette Pierce finally convinced Charlene to go on a blind date with her younger brother, J. Dean Pierce, just “one time” (thanks auntie Bette, it worked!). Dean and Charlene were married one year later on November 8, 1957 in Wellsville Utah and then were sealed in the Logan Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on July 20, 1964.

Charlene and Dean began life together in Las Vegas, Nevada where Dean worked as an architect and they had their first three children, Steven Dean, Kimberly and Lori, in under three years. During their first 12 years, the family moved every three years, first from Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah where David Ernest joined the Pierces, then to Epsom, Surrey, England where Gregory Hoskin was added to the family, and then on to Frankfurt, Germany. Charlene insisted her children attend the neighborhood schools all three years to fully learn the language, understand the culture and integrate with the people. Her sixth child was conceived in Frankfurt, found out about in Paris (hence her name, Jacquelene), and born after their arrival in Salt Lake City, where Charlene and Dean remained until they retired.

While living in England, a lovely twist was added to Charlene’s life, when Therese, a Swiss Au Pair girl found her way to the home and hearts of the Pierces. With German and English dictionaries in hand, Charlene and Therese learned to communicate, enjoyed their time together and developed a lifelong friendship.

Charlene loved traveling around the world, tasting delicious cuisines, learning about diverse cultures and seeing beautiful architecture. When Dean retired, and amongst medical difficulties, they moved abroad once again, buying 30-acres of property in rural Costa Rica, which they owned for 28 years. As a result of her passion for traveling and living overseas, all of her children have either lived abroad or spent a significant amount of time outside of the United States of America.

In spite of enduring traumatic health disabilities over 34 years (e.g. two brain hemorrhages from an aneurysm that also caused a stroke, full intestinal blockage, thyroid cancer, and dizziness 24/7 since 1999), Charlene carried a spirit of sunshine. She would profess that her greatest accomplishment was raising her 6 children (3 boys and 3 girls) overseas and in the US.

Charlene had a strong faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which she exemplified throughout her life. She believed and taught about love and about Jesus through daily acts of kindness, which she impressed upon her children. Her sense of duty and community led her to be an active volunteer for her Church, her children’s schools and for local civic affairs, where she accepted a variety of leadership and supporting roles. She taught by example and felt that if you are going to do something, do it well.

Martha Charlene Pierce was preceded in death by her husband J. Dean Pierce, her daughter Kimberly, her grandson Ezekiel, her parents and her 10 siblings. For the last two months of life, she would smile as she stated, “I am the last of the Mohicans”.

She is survived by 5 of her 6 children, Steven (Stephany), Lori, David (Karen), Gregory and Jacquelene, 11 of her 12 grandchildren, Camron, Jonathan, Hailey, Karly, Jacob, Samuel D, Aden, Samuel A, Ellisha ‘Charlene’, Joshua, and Séraphine, and her 6 beautiful great-grandchildren, James, Cedric, Audrey, Harper, Miles and Riley.

Martha Charlene was a wonderful matriarch and gave wise counsel by her words and actions throughout her life. Reflecting upon our mother’s 92 years, we see the beautiful nuances of a full life – a life well lived. She will be dearly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send a donation in Charlene’s memory to CHOICE Humanitarian to reduce poverty and suffering around the world. Donations may be sent to https://choicehumanitarian.org/donate/, entering an amount, and then clicking on the “Dedicate this donation” box. Thank you for contributing to Charlene’s legacy.