OBITUARY Timothy Cameron Pierce May 27, 1964 – November 5, 2018 Timothy Cameron Pierce, beloved brother, son, uncle, and lifelong Marblehead resident, died November 5, 2018. Tim was born May 27, 1964 in Salem. His twin sister Susie was healthy, but Tim had a rare genetic condition, Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Beidl syndrome, which includes progressive blindness (retinitis pigmentosa) and kidney disease, among other physical challenges.
Having some sight as a child, Tim was an avid reader and developed passions for Winnie-the-Pooh, baseball, and card games. His lifelong love of the Red Sox began during summers in Maine, when he watched countless games with his beloved grandmother, for whom he was a particular favorite. Listening to Red Sox games became a favored pastime that sustained Tim throughout his life; with his remarkable memory, he could recall virtually any play of any game, often including specific pitches.
This year’s Red Sox World Series victory seemed to be for Tim. Losing his sight completely at age 14, Tim mastered Braille and walking with a cane and was able to successfully navigate his school work, graduating from Governor’s Academy and Gordon College with a degree in English. He later earned a certificate in medical transcription at Perkins School for the Blind.
Tim soon turned his attention to his passion for poetry, composing glowing tributes to his favorite sports stars and delighting his sisters with poems that captured cherished childhood memories or described every detail of a recent visit, right down to the food! Tim also loved word play and puns, and during these family gatherings, he amused everyone with his latest puns and treated family members to his coveted back rubs. Tim was a gentle soul, sensitive, sweet, loyal, and kind, with a strong desire to help those who had suffered a loss or an illness or a sad time in their lives.
He reached out to family, friends, and many others, filling their mailboxes with tapes of uplifting songs from musicals, his special favorite (he could sing the words to the entire score of most musicals! ) or of inspiring Red Sox game highlights or with pieces of scripture or painstakingly-typed copies of his poems, offering words of comfort and encouragement. In recent years, despite feeling increasingly anxious about his health, having had two kidney transplants, Tim continued to be sustained by his faith.
His spirituality had blossomed in college, and he enjoyed attending Bible Study with friends and listening to stories from the Bible or Christian radio stations. Moments before he died, a beautiful, bright smile lit Tim’s entire face, suggesting that he had a vision of peace and freedom from the pain and anxiety that had colored his recent years. It is lovely to think that he might have been able to see fully at last.
Tim is survived by his father Laurence Pierce; his stepmother Nancy Buffler; his three sisters and their husbands, Hilary and Chuck Jackson of Darien, CT, Susanna and Daniel Pratt of Marblehead, and Sarah and Adam Levy of Harpswell, ME; and by nine nieces and nephews, Sam, Olivia, and Diana Jackson, Henry, William, Benjamin, and Emily Pratt, and Jonah and Emma Levy. He is predeceased by his mother Diana Pierce and his brother Robin Bruce Pierce. A celebration of Tim’s life will be held in late December.
Contributions may be made in Tim’s memory to Foundation Fighting Blindness, 7168 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 100, Columbia, MD 21046. Arrangements under the direction of Eustis and Cornell of Marblehead.
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