Merrijane Pierce, adoption expert
Merrijane Pierce of Rehoboth Beach died surrounded by her family Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, after a short illness. She was born at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y., and grew up in Johnson City, N.Y., graduating from Johnson City High School in 1961. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Alfred University in 1967. She had a long career as a social worker, and went on to receive her master’s degree in social work from Delaware State University in 1995.
Widely considered an expert in the field of adoption, Merrijane worked on Delaware's first same-sex adoption case, and in 2005, won a Congressional Coalition Angels in Adoption Award. She retired from Children & Families First in 2011 after 15 years with the agency, but continued to provide consultation on complex adoption cases. Her role in creating hundreds of new families through adoption is something she was most proud of (However, she was a staunch grammarian, so ending the previous sentence with a preposition would have made her skin crawl).
Merrijane will be remembered as a woman with strong progressive values, a quick wit, and unrivaled directness. She was a voracious reader, devouring books by the dozens. She loved animals, especially her rescue dogs Sam and Snoopy, who brought her much joy in recent years. She strongly believed that her legs were her best feature.
She was a member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church and a volunteer in their thrift store, as well as a volunteer for the Rehoboth Community Resource Center.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John (Jack) Shepard Pierce and Beatrice Long Stout; and her sister Judith Pierce. She is survived by her partner of 23 years, Beth Doty; her children Kirsten Olson and her husband Richard James, Andrew Olson and his husband Neal Santos, Mia Olson, and Margit Olson and her wife Marianne Maloy; her beloved grandchildren Lucy, Jeremy, Miles, and Leo; her stepsister Donna Case;, and stepbrother Robert Stout; and her nieces Sarah and Lindsey Harford.
Services will be held Saturday, Dec. 31, at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 18 Olive Ave., Rehoboth Beach, at 11 a.m., with committal at All Saints’ Cemetery, Beaver Dam Road, Harbeson.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Merrijane's memory to Rehoboth Community Resource Center, 37510 Oyster House Road, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 18 Olive Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, Delaware Valley Bichon Rescue, 711 Chapel Road, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077, or Children & Families First, ATTN: Friends Campaign, 2005 Baynard Blvd., Wilmington, DE 19802.
Please visit Merrijane's Life Memorial Webpage and sign her online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.
