Keith W. Pierce

Keith Wallace Pierce was born on March 18, 1947 in Old Mystic, Connecticut to Ruth and Wallace Pierce. He passed away after complications from his open heart surgery on December 30, 2015, at age 68. He is the oldest of three children. He graduated from Fitch Senior High School in 1965. He obtained a bachelor degree from Northeastern University and a Master's degree from the University of Connecticut. Keith was Senior Vice President of Operations for the Detroit Media Partnership from 1993 until he retired in 2010, running the printing facilities for the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News. He earlier worked for the New York Daily News and several other top publications. Soon after retirement, Keith embraced TGA. He loved working with kids, from preschoolers to middle schoolers. Keith always smiled, but the kids made him smile even more, and he shared that passion with others, often recruiting friends to join the TGA team. Just two months before the surgery, Keith was likely the most active retired person in metro Detroit. Not only did he teach a full schedule of TGA after-school classes, but he taught Sunday school to kids at his church, plus a mid-week Bible study for adults. He chopped his own firewood. He managed his rental property and was Mr. Fix-It. He was a consultant in the printing industry. He played tons of golf, had tons of friends and always had a smile for everyone he met. And of course he loved playing golf. Keith was fortunate enough to play some of the world's greatest courses -- Pebble Beach, Pine Valley, Merion, St. Andrews, Whistling Straits (pictured above) and many more. But he was equally at home paying the senior rate -- or even better, a GolfNow hot deal -- at public courses in metro Detroit and playing for $2 a side with his many golf buddies. During those matches Keith would proudly update everyone on the latest achievements of his family. Keith is survived by son Harrison and daughter-in-law Verlinda, daughter Kendall, his younger sister Beverly and her husband Ken, his younger brother Scott, his stepchildren Pamela and Stephan, four grandchildren and one great grandchild. Visitation will be Monday, Jan. 4, from noon-2 p.m. at Sullivan and Sons, 705 W. Eleven Mile, Royal Oak, MI 48067. A funeral service will follow at 2 p.m., with dinner after the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either Vox Church in Chesterfield, the American Heart Association or the TGA Sports Foundation, which funds scholarships for families who can't afford TGA golf programs.

Keith W. Pierce

March 18, 1947 - December 30, 2015