Leonard Michael Pierce

Leonard "Len" Michael Pierce, 88, of North Attleboro, passed away on Monday, May 30, 2016, at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, MA. He was the beloved husband of Eugenia "Genie" (Ostrowski) Pierce, to whom he was married on May 24, 1952.Born on December 28, 1927, in Hyde Park, MA, he was the son of the late Alvin J. Pieczkowski and Mary A. (Putnicki) Pieczkowski.Len was an altar boy at St. Adalbert's Roman Catholic Church and an early graduate of Hyde Park High School, Class of 1945, from which he went on to matriculate at Boston College. He was soon drafted into the United States Army, where he proudly and honorably served our country. After graduating from Airborne School in Ft. Benning, GA, he became an airborne instructor, and upon his release from service in 1947, continued his education at Boston College. In 1950, Len was recalled to active duty and was stationed in Germany until his discharge in July 1951. Len was employed as a district manager for Kraft Foods in the Northeastern region for more than thirty-nine years before retiring in 1990. A resident of North Attleboro for the past fifty years, Len was one of the earliest communicants of St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church in the Village of Attleboro Falls, where he also served as a Lector, Cantor, and Eucharistic Minister.He was an active member of the North Attleboro American Legion and Knights of Columbus, and was a member of the North Attleboro Finance Committee and Representative Town Meeting. He enjoyed golf, woodworking and fishing, as well as snow- and water-skiing.Participation in the Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston played an integral part in Len's life. It was there that he met his cherished wife, and there that he made many lifelong friends. At various times, he was a vice-president, president, and an administrative director of the dance group. He later became one of the founding members, and then the president, of the Polish Folk Dance Association of the Americas. Above all else in his life, though, Len loved time spent with his wife, his five children, and their ever-growing family. He is survived by his wife, Genie, and was the father of Steven L. Pierce and his wife, Sharon K. (Smith) Pierce of Norfolk, MA; Ann "Nancy" R. (Pierce) Grenier and her husband, Captain John L. Grenier of Cumberland, RI; the late James D. Pierce and his wife, Sylvia A. (Sullivan) Pierce of San Marcos, CA; Susan M. (Pierce) Susienka and her husband, Joseph R. Susienka, Jr., of Whitinsville, MA; and Elizabeth A. (Pierce) Skarbinski and her husband, Michael A. Skarbinski of Pittsboro, NC. He was the treasured grandfather of seventeen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with another great-grandchild on the way, and the beloved grandfather of the late Justin Pierce. He was the brother of Alvin J. Pierce of Framingham, MA, and his late wife, Mary (Sinkiewicz) Pierce, and leaves many nieces and nephews and dear friends.Friends and family are cordially invited to attend a Visitation with Veteran's Honors on Thursday, June 2, 2016, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. in the "Memorial Chapel" of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home - the national historic Colonel Obed Robinson Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, ¾ mile on the left) Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA.Children's room is available during visitation and while the funeral cortege is being organized.Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, June 3, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. at St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church, 105 Stanley Street (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, turn right onto Stanley Street in ½ mile and travel to end of Stanley Street), Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA, with the Rev. Thomas A. Frechette, Pastor, officiating.Burial will follow on Friday, June 3, 2016, at 12:45 p.m. with Military Honors in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Leonard's name to the James Pierce Scholarship Fund, 43 South Washington Street, North Attleboro, MA 02760, or to St. Mark's Church, 105 Stanley St., North Attleboro, MA 02763.For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com . Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA. (508) 695-0200