Rose Mary Pierce of Mammoth Spring, AR, age 73, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at the home of her son, Michael Gallup, surrounded by family.

Rose was born in Mammoth Spring on May 29, 1947, to Madison and Mary Pierce.  She was the third of eight siblings and attended Mammoth Spring Schools, graduating in 1965. She attended Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR graduating in 1969 with a BSE in Social Studies.

After teaching two years in Greenville, MO, she moved to Georgetown County, South Carolina where she would teach social studies for 30 years, mostly at Waccamaw Schools. During this time she resided in Pawleys Island, SC. She was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church. After retirement, she returned to Mammoth Spring and served for a time as the museum curator at Mammoth Spring State Park. There she made a home in her little cabin overlooking the Spring River. She was an avid gardener who especially loved daylilies and hydrangeas. She had several dogs throughout her life that she loved, most recently Willie Biscuit.

She is predeceased by her parents Madison and Mary Pierce, her siblings Betty Albright and Steve Pierce, her brother-in-law Marvin Albright, and her son Aitken Gallup.

She is survived by her siblings Jimmy Pierce and wife, Diane of Mammoth Spring, Rocky Pierce of Mammoth Spring, Chester Pierce and wife, Ellen of Fayetteville, AR, Jesse Pierce and wife, Denise of Camp, AR, and Barbara Humphries and husband, Larry of Glencoe, AR, her sister-in-law Deniece Pierce of Mammoth Spring, and her son Michael Gallup and his wife Michala and their children Mary Grace and Nehemiah of Little Rock, AR.

A graveside memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm, Friday, February 26 at Riverside Cemetery, Mammoth Spring, AR. Memorials can be made by way of donations to St. Jude Children Research Hospital.