Pap and Mam Pierce

I don’t remember very much about Pap and Mam.  Mam died when I was a small baby.  She wanted to keep me over night, but mother was nervous about letting her.  A short time after her request to keep me over night, Mam had a massive stroke and died the next day.  I believe she was in her early seventy’s when she died.  Mother could never forgive herself for not letting Mam keep me overnight. 

When Mam first saw me after I was born, she said I was the prettiest baby that was ever born into the Pierce family.  She said I had her old bottle nose.  For that, I will always love her even though having a bottle shaped nose might not be a good thing.  I wish she had lived longer, so I could have gotten to know her.

 They were both born in Pulaski Tennessee.  Some of Pap’s siblings children and grandchildren still live and own farm land in and around Pulaski till this day.  They had seven children, five boys and two girls.  They were both left handed, Yet they only had one child that was left handed, and that was Aunt Martha.  She was the baby of the family. 

Mam had an exceptionally good education for that day and time.  Daddy said she finished high school and attended some college.  I don’t know whether she completed any kind of a degree.  Pap on the other hand, would have been lucky to have to have completed the fifth grade.  Mam was an only child, and her family thought she married beneath herself.  Mam kept a diary of their life together.  They had a hard life together.  They were always on the move.  They were never able to buy a home and settle down.  Mam seemed to be somewhat bitter about the hardships they had endured.  But, they were blessed in many ways.  They had seven children and never lost a one either in childhood or in their adult lives.  So, they were blessed with a large loving family that was with them until the day they died.

 

They were also blessed with a strong faith.  Going to church and trying to live a good Christian life was extremely important to them.  Pap was an elder in the Menard Church Of Christ, for many years.  Every now and then I run into someone who is old enough to remember Pap and Mam.  They never fail to tell me that they were two of the most wonderful Christian people they have ever known.  Apparently, they thought that being a Christian involved more than going to church a few times a week. 

Although they didn’t accumulate a lot of worldly possessions, and were never able to purchase a home in this life, I feel like God will reward them with an eternal mansion when they get to heaven.  Even though they have been dead for over fifty years, people still remember Pap and Mam for the good decent lives they lived while they were here.  I am reminded of a plaque that hangs by the chapel, at Menard Manor, where I work.  It says, “What we do for ourselves dies when we do, what we do for others lives forever.”

 I’m proud they were my grandparents.