Person:Guy Pierce (1)

     Guy was a huge baby - 13 pounds--and his brothers and sisters were of similar size. He was raised in a home with much closeness and love between brothers and sisters, and parents. By the time Guy reached high school, he had grown to 6'2", 195 pounds, curly brown hair and brown eyes. He had large hands, and a dimple in each cheek. 
     Many female friends and relatives have commented about how handsome he was and how they carried crushes on him for years. Fighting was a great sport and passtime with his brother, George and their friends. They became very good. In fact, Guy held his own with a boxing champion in the Navy later on and won a match with the heavy weight champion of California. He played football and became all-state tackle. He was Vice president of his junior classand was Senior class president.
     He married Ruth Jones on May 29, 1942. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II leaving Ruth expecting their first child. Guy trained recruits at Camp Farragut, Idaho as an athletic specialist, then served as a cammando in a secret mission to the Island of Attu. Guy's ship was bombed when he was a gunner, and he was blown from the ship, suffering a broken back. His injuries were so severe that he wasn't expected to live.
     He graduated from BYU Jan 8, 1953 and was hired to teach there. They eventually had 5 children. He loved hunting and fishing, his family and the Church.
     He battled a disease called Scleroderma and developed heart block trouble. In April 1961, he had a pace maker attached internally to his heart to aid in it's regularity. His last year was one long duration of trips in and out of the hospital. The doctors said they learned a lot about pace makers from his case that would eventually help others.
     He died on June 10, 1961 in Provo Utah Valley Hospital, with his children age 6 to 18, when he was 3 months shy of 40 years old. 
     Guy was loved by all who knew him--was almost a hero to his brothers and sisters, and greatly missed by his wife and young family which are anxious to get to know him as adults. (Written by his daughter Betty)

1.   Jun 1-30 Utah Death Certificates for Guy Pierce 1961.

   http://images.archives.utah.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/81448/id/1783/rec/11
   1961; Utah, Jun 1-30 Utah Death Certificates for Guy Pierce 1961
   Date of birth 10 Sep 1922 Date of death, 7 Jun 1961 Place of death, Utah Valley Hospital, Provo, Utah. Died of Heart Block. Interval between onset and death, 1 year
   
   Digital Image created in 2011 by the Utah State Archives, which is the custodian of the original records from the Office of Vital Records.
   Holding.Institution Utah State Archives
   Finding Aid http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/81448.html

2.   There is a building named after him at BYU. (Brigham Young University).

   There is a building named after him at BYU. (Brigham Young University)...The Guy Pierce Building