Royce Billy (Bill) (Samp) Pierce

Royce Billy (Bill) (Samp) Pierce, June 7, 1932 – November 15, 2016

Memorial Park Funeral Home, Memorial Park Road Announces the death of Royce (Bill) (Samp) Pierce who passed away Tuesday, November 15, 2016.  He was born June 7, 1932 to George B. Pierce and Margie (Duckett) Pierce.  Bill was a member of Northside Baptist Church.

Royce did a tour of duty with the United States Navy from 1951 to 1955, aboard the Kankakee Tanker where the Midway Air Craft Cruiser went aboard while attempting to fuel doing a great deal of damage to the Kankakee by landing on top of the tanker.  He toured some eleven or twelve different countries.  He received several ribbons and honors.

Royce never met a stranger; he made friends with people he met and talked to.

Royce worked in plumbing; also the concrete business doing a lot of schools in Atlanta, some DOT work and the Lakeshore Mall Shopping Center.  He also worked with Hall County operating the first backhoe the county bought.  He later began to work for Sak’s Fifth Avenue in Atlanta where he retired with 20 years of service where he was chief engineer of the store.

Royce was an avid hunter especially rabbit and deer.  He had several very good beagle dogs which he dearly loved, but due to health problems he had to sell them.  He also loved deep sea fishing and went every time he got a chance to go.

It is requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to Northside Baptist Church Building Fund; PO Box 2219, Gainesville, GA, Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, 2150 Limestone Parkway, Gainesville, GA  30501, or to the Georgia Sheriff Youth Homes C/O Sheriff Couch, Sheriff of Hall County.

Royce was preceded in death by his parents, George B. Pierce and Margie (Duckett) Pierce; sister, Mary Nell King; sister and brother-in-law, Clarence and Claudine Gilstrap; sister and brother-in-law Avery and Willie Mae Brownlow; brother, Rev. Jack Pierce, Betty and Harold Black, Brother-in-law, Jim Head; two special nieces, Janet Pierce and Jackie Cochran.

Royce is survived by his loving wife of 28 years, Dot M. Pierce, sister Dee Head, brother and sister-in-law, Rueben Pierce and Glenda Pierce.  A host of nieces and nephews also survive.

Funeral services will be Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 3:30 pm, visitation at the funeral home will be Wednesday, November 16, 2016 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  The funeral will be in the chapel of Memorial Park Funeral Home; with the Rev. Farrell Presley, Rev. Shannon Wingo and Rev. Roger Abernathy officiating.

The family wishes to express thanks for all the prayers that have been offered in his behalf.  We wish to express our appreciation to Memorial Park Funeral Home for their wonderful job they did and the concern and thoughtfulness for the family.  God Bless all the staff of the funeral home.

Entombment in Memorial Park Mausoleum.

Thanks to Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center for their great compassion, love and all the great things they did for Royce.  They went out of their way to be of help to the family.  May God Bless each one of them as they help during a crisis or helped the family bear the burden of losing a loved one.