John T. Pierson, Jr.

John T. Pierson Jr., of Manahawkin, passed away on August 1, 2024 with his family by his side. John was born on May 17, 1942 to John and Helen Pierson in Jersey City, NJ. After High School he spent two years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War where he did “things with ammunition”. He went on to have a 30+ year career in the aviation industry working mostly for US Airways.

In 1960, John met Frances Cavanagh. They married in April 1968 and spent most of their time in Barnegat, NJ where they had 3 children, Lisa, Dave, and Steve. For 45 years, John and Frances provided a home that had an open-door policy where family and friends would frequently drop by to visit for a bit. Some would give a courtesy knock as they walked in and many came knocking with their elbows. All were welcome.
Most recently, John and Frances lived in Manahawkin, NJ reliving their cabana club days by hanging out at the pool with friends.

John loved The Beach Boys, doo-wop and anything remotely related to the 1950s, muscle cars, and a good book. Most of all, he loved his family. Especially his six grandkids, Derek, Mya, Ashley, Mark, Connor, and James. He couldn’t get enough of them and was extremely proud of them.

He found joy in everything that the grandkids did and always jumped at the opportunity to spend time with them. Whether it was to babysit when they were young or attend as many of their activities as possible – school plays, piano recitals, choir, baseball, soccer, swimming, hockey, football, volleyball and basketball.

His last conversation was no different than a lot of his conversations. He wanted an update on each of the grandkids. FYI, he also mentioned that the Mission Impossible movie he watched was “too much”.

It brings us joy knowing that he has moved on to a place where maybe he’ll get into a car and go for a drive, order anything he wants off the menu, listen to the TV very loud, have access to an unlimited number of books to read, and a place with plenty of military and commercial planes flying overhead so he can show-off how he can identify them. He might even have a few hot rods.

A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Mary’s Church, Barnegat on August 12, 2024 at 11:00 AM. (www.BarnegatFH.com)

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