Marvin Pierce

Marvin Pierce

Marvin "Monk" Pierce, Captain of the 1915 Miami University Football team
Born (1893-06-17)June 17, 1893
Sharpsville, Pennsylvania
Died July 17, 1969(1969-07-17) (aged 76)
Rye, New York
Education Miami University
Occupation President of McCall Corporation, publisher of women's magazines Redbook and McCall's
Spouse(s) Pauline Robinson (1918–1949, her death)
Willa Martin (1952–1969, his death)
Children Martha Pierce Rafferty
James Pierce
Barbara Pierce Bush
Scott Pierce
Parent(s) Scott Pierce
Mabel Marvin

Marvin Pierce (June 17, 1893 – July 17, 1969) was president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's. He was the father of United States First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush.

Early life

Marvin Pierce was born on June 17, 1893 in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, to Scott Pierce (born 1866) an insurance salesman in Dayton, Ohio, and Mabel Marvin (born 1869). His ancestor Thomas Pierce (1618–1683), an early New England colonist, was also an ancestor of Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States. Marvin was a 1916 graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, he was nicknamed "Monk" and was a stand-out athlete in football, basketball, baseball and tennis.[1] He was inducted into Miami's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972. He also received graduate degrees from MIT in civil engineering and from Harvard in architectural engineering.

Career

Pierce served as the president of McCall Corporation, the publisher of the popular women's magazines Redbook and McCall's.[1]

Personal life

Pierce's first marriage (August 1918) was to Pauline Robinson who was born on 28 April 1896 to Ohio Supreme Court justice, James E. Robinson and his wife Lulu Dell Flickinger and died on 23 September 1949. They had four children together:

W magazine once described Pauline Robinson as "beautiful, fabulous, critical, and meddling" and "a former beauty from Ohio with extravagant tastes". On 23 September 1949, Pauline was killed in an automobile accident in Harrison, Westchester County, New York, when Marvin, who was driving the car, lost control as he reached over to stop a cup of hot coffee from sliding across the seat onto his wife. The car crashed into a tree on Purchase St, killing Pauline instantly at 8:12 a.m. She was 53 years old.

Their third child, Barbara Pierce, later became the wife of the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, mother of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.

Pierce's second marriage (June 1952) was to Willa Gray Martin (1911–2006), an artist and Associated Press reporter.

Death and legacy

Pierce died on July 17, 1969 at Rye, New York (aged 76) and was interred at Greenwood Union Cemetery (Rye, New York). Marvin Pierce Bush, one of Barbara's sons, is named after him.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bush, George W. (2014). 41: A Portrait of My Father. London: Ebury Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9780553447781. OCLC 883645289.
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