PIERSON, Jane Wilhelmina, age 94, of Monroe, Ohio died Wednesday, August 17, 2011, at Mt. Pleasant Retirement Village where she was a resident. She was born in Butler County, Ohio on July 24, 1917, the daughter of William and Barbara (Ries) Pierson and was a 1936 graduate of Hanover High School. In 1939, she graduated from Mercy School of Nursing and later completed Midwifery training in Frontier Nursing Service in 1952. Jane worked for 5 years in the Maternity Ward at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, and later worked as a frontier nurse on horseback in the Bull Creek, Kentucky area for 2 years. After that she worked in the Berea, Kentucky Hospital, Inc. for 24 years retiring in 1979. Jane was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Hamilton, OH.

The part of her career that she most enjoyed telling stories about was her work with the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky. She drove a jeep over crude roads to reach her patients, often having to abandon the jeep and finish the trip by horseback, and sometimes even on foot. She delivered hundreds of babies, nursed the sick and injured, and tended to the dying. Since money was scarce, she was paid with things such as a batch of cookies, a dozen eggs, a good laying hen, a baby pig, etc. She remembered one family that paid her with a shiny new faucet even though they lived miles from the nearest running water. When a family didn't have anything to give, she would ask them for their favorite recipe, which was rarely written down so had to be delivered word of mouth. As a result, Jane had a collection of great recipes that she loved to prepare and share with family and friends.
Jane was a prolific quilter, leaving behind literally hundreds of quilts. While living in Berea she sold enough quilts to local shops and other customers to completely pay for her house.


Survivors include two nephews, Thomas (Teresa) Pierson of Trenton, OH and David (Deborah) Pierson of Jacksonville, FL; great nieces and nephews Faith Pierson-Elliott, Tonya (Stephen) Patt, Christopher (Jennifer) Pierson, and Adam Pierson; many great-great nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters, Eleanor Curl, Helen Grace, and a sister in infancy; four brothers, Walter, Ellsworth, Harold, and Raymond Pierson.


A graveside service is planned for 1:30 P.M. on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at Miltonville Cemetery, Trenton, OH, officiated by Chaplain Karen Flemming. Memorials in Jane's memory may be sent to Frontier Nursing Service, 132 FNS Drive, Wendover, KY 41775. Phone: 606-672-2317. Zettler Funeral Home is serving the family. Online register book is available at www.zettlerfuneralhome.com