Michael Alton Pearce died peacefully and with loved ones by his side, on July 23, 2013, after a short battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife Hazel, son Ken and Robin Pearce, son Todd and Dawn Engels, daughter Leah and Chris Kemple, daughter Kathryn Pearce, sister Nancy and Chuck Manning, and nine grandchildren.
Mike was born in Kalispell on Aug. 21, 1936, where his parents, Jean and Alton Pearce, owned and operated the Alton Pearce Drug Company for over 47 years. He graduated from Flathead County High School in 1954, and was awarded a full Navy scholarship at the University of Washington where he graduated and was commissioned as an ensign, U.S. Navy, in 1958.
His Naval service spanned 34 years in which he served aboard every type of surface ship and submarines. He attended Naval Aviation Training and received his pilots wings in 1959. Mike flew as pilot in command of 18 different types of military aircraft. Primarily based in the Pacific Theater, he served one Atlantic tour.
Mike attended post-graduate education at George Washington University, the Naval War College and the Defense Systems Management University where he earned master's degrees.
His Command at Sea tours included Patrol Squadron 48 at Moffett Field, Calif., and Commander Task Group 72.3 at Misawa, Japan. His Command Ashore tours were at the Defense Systems Management University as Dean of the School of Systems Acquisition Management, and as professor of Naval science at Iowa State University. He retired with rank of captain, USN.
After making 19 military moves, Mike and Hazel settled in Silverdale, Wash. There he owned and operated Pearce Services for 22 years, contracting with industry and the state of Washington to present management training seminars for newly promoted supervisors of the Washington Department of Personnel, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Ferry System.
Mike and Hazel continued to fly general aviation, owning a 1945 Cessna 170, later a 1947 Navion-A, a Lancair Columbia 300, and finally a Lightning LS-1 Light Sport. Mike flew as a pilot for the Thirteenth District Coast Guard in the four-state area of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. As a Coast Guard Air Auxiliary pilot for 16 years, he flew in the Puget Sound and Columbia River Areas of Operation, watching for drug trafficking, shipping traffic violations and maritime safety. As a lifelong pilot he accumulated over 12,000 pilot hours, starting as a 9-year-old flying from Kalispell City Airport.
During his early years Mike also followed the Montana boat racing circuit, putting on water ski shows for Montana state regattas. He was a life member of the American Water Ski Association, Kalispell Masonic Lodge No. 42 AF&AM, and a member and trustee of the First Methodist Church of Belmont, N.C.
Mike and Hazel moved to Belmont, N.C. in 2009 to be closer to three married children and nine grandchildren. May through September were spent on Flathead Lake where Mike grew up and had such fond memories.
If you would like to honor Mike with a memorial, his family suggests donations to the Lakeside Community Chapel, P.O. Box 162, Lakeside, MT 59922.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday July 26, at the Lakeside Community Chapel.
To send condolences to the family, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael Pearce, please visit our flower store.
He is survived by his wife Hazel, son Ken and Robin Pearce, son Todd and Dawn Engels, daughter Leah and Chris Kemple, daughter Kathryn Pearce, sister Nancy and Chuck Manning, and nine grandchildren.
Mike was born in Kalispell on Aug. 21, 1936, where his parents, Jean and Alton Pearce, owned and operated the Alton Pearce Drug Company for over 47 years. He graduated from Flathead County High School in 1954, and was awarded a full Navy scholarship at the University of Washington where he graduated and was commissioned as an ensign, U.S. Navy, in 1958.
His Naval service spanned 34 years in which he served aboard every type of surface ship and submarines. He attended Naval Aviation Training and received his pilots wings in 1959. Mike flew as pilot in command of 18 different types of military aircraft. Primarily based in the Pacific Theater, he served one Atlantic tour.
Mike attended post-graduate education at George Washington University, the Naval War College and the Defense Systems Management University where he earned master's degrees.
His Command at Sea tours included Patrol Squadron 48 at Moffett Field, Calif., and Commander Task Group 72.3 at Misawa, Japan. His Command Ashore tours were at the Defense Systems Management University as Dean of the School of Systems Acquisition Management, and as professor of Naval science at Iowa State University. He retired with rank of captain, USN.
After making 19 military moves, Mike and Hazel settled in Silverdale, Wash. There he owned and operated Pearce Services for 22 years, contracting with industry and the state of Washington to present management training seminars for newly promoted supervisors of the Washington Department of Personnel, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Ferry System.
Mike and Hazel continued to fly general aviation, owning a 1945 Cessna 170, later a 1947 Navion-A, a Lancair Columbia 300, and finally a Lightning LS-1 Light Sport. Mike flew as a pilot for the Thirteenth District Coast Guard in the four-state area of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. As a Coast Guard Air Auxiliary pilot for 16 years, he flew in the Puget Sound and Columbia River Areas of Operation, watching for drug trafficking, shipping traffic violations and maritime safety. As a lifelong pilot he accumulated over 12,000 pilot hours, starting as a 9-year-old flying from Kalispell City Airport.
During his early years Mike also followed the Montana boat racing circuit, putting on water ski shows for Montana state regattas. He was a life member of the American Water Ski Association, Kalispell Masonic Lodge No. 42 AF&AM, and a member and trustee of the First Methodist Church of Belmont, N.C.
Mike and Hazel moved to Belmont, N.C. in 2009 to be closer to three married children and nine grandchildren. May through September were spent on Flathead Lake where Mike grew up and had such fond memories.
If you would like to honor Mike with a memorial, his family suggests donations to the Lakeside Community Chapel, P.O. Box 162, Lakeside, MT 59922.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday July 26, at the Lakeside Community Chapel.
To send condolences to the family, please go to www.buffalohillfh.com. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family