Ivan And Gail Pierce 60th Anniversary

Iris Gail Waite was born on Dec. 9, 1940, in Pocatello, ID. Ivan Nelson Pierce was born on Dec. 22, 1940, in Aberdeen, WA. Gail’s family moved to Seattle, WA when she was two years old. Ivan’s family moved to Boise, ID when he was seven years old. Ivan and Gail first met at a church picnic in Boise when they were 14. When Gail was 16, her family moved to Boise. Ivan and Gail attended Boise High School together during the 1957 – 1958 school year. Then Gail’s family moved to Tacoma, WA where she graduated from Clover Park High School in 1959. Ivan remained in Boise and graduated from Borah High School in 1959. Ivan and Gail became engaged in May, 1960.

Ivan joined the Army in July of 1960 and attended the Army Basic Training program, and the clerk typist school at Fort Ord, CA. Gail attended Graceland College in Lamoni, IA, in the fall of 1960 and returned to Boise in the spring of 1961 to attend Boise Junior College. Ivan was stationed at Fort Shafter, HI in 1961. Gail flew to Hawaii and they were married on Oct. 29, 1961.

In November, 1961 Gail started a practical nursing course at Kapi’olani Tech which was associated with Kaiser Hospital in Honolulu, HI. Ivan was transferred to Fort Chaffee, AR in January, 1962. Gail went to Little Rock, AR to take her state boards to become an LPN. She worked at St. Edwards hospital in Fort Smith for about three months before Ivan was transferred to Ft. Baker, which is across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. Gail continued working as an LPN at various hospitals as they lived in multiple states until retiring in 1987.

Ivan was assigned to the Infantry Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA in January, 1965. Following graduation from OCS, Ivan Sr. was sent to Ft. Polk, LA for six months of troop training. He was then sent to Vietnam from January, 1967 to March 1968. When he returned from Vietnam, Ivan was assigned to Ft. Lewis, WA. He had been promoted to the rank of Captain while in Vietnam and at Ft. Lewis he was the commander of a Basic Training company and an Advanced Individual Training company. Ivan resigned his commission in 1969. He had several civilian jobs in CA, ID and MO including natural gas service man, mechanic, Boise police officer and Dean of Student Affairs and Housing at Park College. In the summer of 1982, Ivan joined the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) and was stationed at Richards Gebaur AFB in Belton. He continued serving in the AGR until retiring from active duty in 1994. Ivan and Gail returned to Boise, ID and Ivan began working as a semi-truck driver for Willis Shaw. Ivan and Gail moved back to Missouri in 1997. Ivan continued truck driving until he was forced to quit in 1998 due to health issues. Ivan worked as a dispatcher for the police department in El Dorado Springs until 2002.

In 2015, Ivan and Gail moved to Independence to be closer to the VA hospital and clinics. In 2019, they moved to El Paso, TX to be closer to family. Due to declining health issues, Ivan and Gail moved into the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in El Paso, TX in August, 2020 where they continue living together. They have two sons, one daughter, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Ivan and Gail Pierce will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Oct. 29, 2021.