November 10, 1931 - November 18, 2018
Bob was born on November 10, 1931 in Spirit Lake, Idaho to Adam and Marie Pierson and passed away November 18, 2018, at the age of 87. He was named after Professional Boxer Bob Fitzsimmons. He had one sister Marie and one brother Addie. He graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, and met a young lady tennis player named Betty Lou “Dolly” Green, from Rogers High School. They were married June 22, 1951 and had 4 children. His hobbies included fishing, bowling, softball, spoiling his dogs, and remodeling his house for the past 60 years. “It’s still not done”, he would say, if you asked him about it. He was a very good baseball player and got a chance to try out for the Spokane Indians in 1952-53, which was the farm team for the LA Dodgers. However, with a young family, he continued to play local softball and was a great 3rd baseman for several local competitive teams. Bob and Dolly both bowled for many years primarily at North Bowl, Lilac Lanes, Diamond Bowl and Colonial. As sometimes happens, Bob and Dolly separated and eventually divorced. Bob took on the single dad role for a few years. On June 9th, 1973, he married Ruth Baker, adding 3 more kids, a dog, which he welcomed and raised like his own. He showed us all how to work and play hard, enjoy the outdoors, love, respect and help others, and no matter how difficult it might be, to do what’s right. Bob had a strong work ethic in everything he did. He hauled sand and gravel for Bud Green Trucking and Central Premix, where he retired after 36 years. He was very proud of working for Premix, and was rarely seen without a Premix hat and a flannel plaid shirt on. He was wearing his hat at his birthday party just days prior to his passing. He was preceded in death by his mother, father, sister, brother, and son-in-law Mark Knight. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, along with their blended family of 7 children, Mike Pierson (Diane), Vicki Frucci (Mike), Susan Pierson, Cindi Knight, Mike Baker (Peggy), Paul Baker, and Shelley Kish (Rich), 20 Grandchildren, 26 Great Grandchildren, 2 Great Great Grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. There will be a Service and Celebration of Life on Saturday, January 12th, 2019, at the St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 9706 N. Division, Spokane, at 1:00 pm. Special Notes: Flannel Plaid shirts: If you have a plaid shirt you would like to bring or wear to the celebration, please do so. We will have a big group photo with all the plaid shirts to put in his book. In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Bob’s love of his faithful 4-legged friends, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to a charity of your choice that helps animals, such as Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) at 6815 E. Trent Avenue, Spokane Valley, WA 99212.
