Pearce died December 4, 2017, after an eight-year struggle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He earned an associate degree from Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, a BA from Oakland University, an MA from Tulane University, a PhD from the University of New Orleans, and another MA from Central Michigan University. He taught in the classroom for 53 years, thirty-two of them at Jesuit High School, and eleven at Benjamin Franklin High School, where he singlehandedly organized the teachers' union. He also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of New Orleans, Concordia University, and University of Holy Cross. He was a member of the Union Francaise and Houma-based choir Les Amis de la Chanson, and for more than a decade played the roles of Santa Claus and Pere Noël at malls, hotels, and private parties. He is survived by Geoffrey Kimball, Dani Honold; brother Michael Pearce; sisters Elizabeth Morrill and Margaret Camarata; cousins Cherry Hudson, Penny Oswald and Alan Watson; and by the thousands of students to whom he taught Latin, Greek, French, English, and Sanskrit over the decades. A funeral service will be celebrated in St. Peter the Apostle Church, Byers Green, England, with burial there in the churchyard. A celebration of Prof's life will take place at Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home, 3827 Canal Street, New Orleans on Friday, December 15, 2017, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Latin program at Benjamin Franklin High School. Condolences may be expressed at www.schoenfh.com.
