Dan Richard Pierce

Our beloved son, brother, father, grandpa, boyfriend, uncle, friend and coworker, Dan Richard Pierce passed away on April 17, 2015 peacefully and courageously in his own home with family by his side from a two year battle with cancer. Dan was born to his parents Richard Jay Pierce and Beverly Boley on June 12, 1951 in Downey, California where he spent his early childhood. In 1959 they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he graduated from Olympus High School and made
many lifelong friends. In 1979 he married LaReen Schofield and one year later had their daughter, Ashlee Danielle Pierce, who was the light of his life. He had a nearly 40 Year career as an Independent Sales Rep in the gift and greeting card industry where he earned many Top Sales Rep Awards. His career took him to Los Angeles for 11 years. He then returned to SLC where he would settle and call home. Dan's fun loving, courageous, and outgoing personality led him to his passion for riding on his Harley Davidson. He enjoyed riding through beautiful scenery with good friends, and to Sturgis multiple times. Thankfully he received a liver transplant after a very short waiting period allowing him to live nearly two more years. Those years were full with his girlfriend Lisa Renee Yerke by his side, surrounded by his family and friends, and the birth of his "little sweetie", Yarrow Danielle Gardiner, his granddaughter. He went on two trips to Mexico and a last minute, 3-day ride to Sturgis with a good friend where they slept under the stars in farmer's fields along the way. Dan was an amazing human with a fighter's spirit. He worked hard and lived a life of dignity until his last breath. He was a kind and generous man whom everyone loved and was grateful to know.
Dan is survived by his daughter Ashlee Danielle Pierce; Son in law Joey Gardiner; granddaughter Yarrow Danielle Pierce; girlfriend Lisa Renee Yerke; mother Beverly Boley Pierce Lee; step mother Jan Pierce Atnip; sisters Linda Pierce, Janell Pierce Giblin, Sjanna Pierce Sharbatz and Susie Levine; brothers Gary Pierce, Sterling Lee, and Wendell Lee; nephews Tobin Giblin, Patrick Giblin, Garret Giblin, and Kyle Pierce; nieces Alexa Parker, Larissa DeFlippo Smith, Stephanie Pierce, Hillary Davis Key, and Alex Davis Sandecki; as well as his many friends and coworkers.
He will be going home to his grandparents, father Richard Jay Pierce, brother Brooke Pierce, and many dear friends he lost along the way. He loved golfing, skiing and vacationing in warm beach locations where he snorkeled and scuba dived, he spent year after year in Cabo where he will have his ashes spread. He will be found somewhere over the rainbow where dreams come true. This world will never be the same, and he will never slow down. Ride on.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, April 25th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City.