Brooks Piercy

Mr. Piercy, 93, of 436 E. College Ave., died Tuesday May 27, 2008 at Crawley Memorial Hospital. He was the son of the late Fred McCree Piercy and Margaret Riddle Piercy. Following the death of his mother in the 1918 influenza epidemic, he was raised by his grandmother, Julia Wilson Riddle. In addition to his parents, he was preceeded in death by his brother Frank Macon Piercy; half-brothers Julian Piercy and Fred Piercy, an infant son, his son Brooks Ervin Piercy Jr. and his wife of 67 years Vernie Cabaniss Piercy.
Mr. Piercy is survived by his granddaughters, Lisa Piercy and her husband Gene Upchurch of Raleigh and Pamela Elizabeth Piercy of Charlotte, grandson Charles Ervin Piercy and wife Laura of Apex, daughter-in-law Kathryn MacKnight Piercy of Cornelius, and a half-sister Lucille Rodgers of Seneca, Pa.
Mr. Piercy graduated from Alexander Schools in Union Mills in 1932 and from Clemson University in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science in agricultrual education. He taught vocational agriculture at Boiling Springs High School and Crest High School for 41 years. He coached seven state-winning Future Farmers of America dairy judging teams in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1976 1975, and 1978 at the national contest in Waterloo, Iowa, and Kansas City, Mo. His 1963 team finished second in the United States and his 1967 team finished third in the nation. Upon his retirement in 1978, he was honored with a surprised dinner attended by more than 400 friends and former students. This group began the Brooks Piercy Endowed Scholarship, wich is given yearly at Crest High School.
He was a former member, past president and director of the North Carolina Jersey Breeders Association and was awarded the J. A. Arey Trophy in 1952 for service to the association. He was awarded the Future Farmers of Americahonorary State Farmer degree in 1978 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Cleveland County Cattlemen's Association in 1999. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, he was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Govenor Mike Easley.
He was appointed to the State Advisory Council on vocational education by Gov. Robert W. Scott and to the Govenor's Advisory Committee on Agriculture by Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. He formerly served on the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Selection Committee, the Board of Directors of the Rutherford Vocational Workshop, the Cleveland County Economic Development Commission and the Gardner-Webb College Board of Adcisors. He served on the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2005.
Mr. Piercy was a member of Boiling Springs Baptist Church where he served as Deacon and on the Building and Grounds and Long-Range Planning committees. He was a charter member of the Boiling Springs Lions Club and a former member of the Shelby Rotary Club. He served as chairman of Boiling Springs Democratic precinct for a number of years.
Memorials may be made to Boiling Springs Baptist Church Building Fund P. O. Box 917 Boiling Springs, NC 28017 or Hospice of Cleveland County 951 Wendover Heights Drive Shelby, NC 28150