Fr. John Pierce, 93, passes away in Lyons, New Jersey

Fr. John Pierce, OFM, 93, passed away on Feb. 22, 2025, at the VA Community Living Center in Lyons, New Jersey, after an extended illness. Fr. John was a professed Franciscan friar for 66 years and a priest for 61 years. He was known for his love and gratitude for his vocation and for embracing the joy of serving God and others. He once called ordination to the priesthood his “absolute greatest joy in life.”  

Visitation for Fr. John will be held Monday, March 3, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Anthony Church, 65 Bartholdi Avenue, Butler, NJ  07405, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Interment will immediately follow Mass at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Butler. A luncheon will be served in the friary refectory at approximately noon.  

A native of Melrose, Massachusetts, Br. John was born on Feb. 16, 1932, to Ralph and Frances (née Mutty) Pierce. In his early years, he was known for his athleticism, exhibiting his collegiate football prowess at St. Bonaventure University in Western New York and St. Michael’s College in Vermont. Fr. John entered the Franciscan Order on June 14, 1957; made temporary profession on July 15, 1958; professed solemn vows on Aug. 22, 1961; and was ordained to the priesthood on March 2, 1963, in Washington, D.C. He later earned a Master of Divinity degree from Seton Hall University.  

Over the years, Fr. John was dedicated to pastoral ministry and serving as a chaplain. From 1964 to 1968, he served at Assumption Parish in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. In keeping with his motto, “All give some. Some give all,” Br. John volunteered as a U.S. Navy Chaplain, attaining the rank of lieutenant and serving with the First Marine Division in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. He was awarded the Bronze Star medal in 1970.

Returning stateside, Fr. John ministered at Franciscan parishes in East Paterson (Elmwood Park), Garfield, Fair Lawn, Wood-Ridge and West Milford, New Jersey, and Obernburg, New York. In addition, he served as a chaplain at St. Anthony Hospital in Warwick, New York, from 1996 to 2000.  

Due to medical needs, Fr. John had resided at the New Jersey Veterans Administration Hospital in Lyons, New Jersey, since 2019.  

Fr. John was predeceased by his parents, his brothers Ralph and Dana, sisters Miriam Frances Pierce Scully, Pricilla A. McNally and Estelle Pierce Burton, and nephew Gerard Pierce. He is survived by nieces and nephews and his brother friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.